Interlude of the Shincy
by Quentix Starwing
Summary: When a child is born in between worlds and chooses the side of light to fight on; what happens when he meets a fate wrapped in darkness? The tale of the half Quincy/half Shinigami begins here. Chapter 14 is now finally up, so sorry for the long wait!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of the original concepts and nor do I pretend that I do, but I do however happen to own the characters that are custom and fully in my concept. But let's not waste time with trivial things.

A/N: Welcome Ladies and gentlemen, for those who have read me before, prepare to be wowed and amazed as I attempt to undertake a Bleach Fanfiction. For a first time, I will be trying my hand at writing a fic idea that has been running through my mind for a while; so I'd take you to take this trip with me. Now I play around with some amusing ideas alright, so bear with me alright? I am using a concept a wee bit foreign to the series, if you do not like the idea please no flames alright? It was an attempt to be original (hard enough in this world as we know it xD), well anyway. Hope it catches your fancy, without further adieu; the fic.

(End A/N)

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Prologue: Meeting the Shincy

"Tou Yuushin! What have I told you about tiring our son out before it is our time train?" the voice of a very ticked off Quincy speaking as she saw the result of their son's training with his father, as usual his father carried out the battle too far over the hour that he normally took with their son after his patrolling their section of the town. It was always like this for him, always a regular trial to make it through a day at class, then to patrol for a few hours, before he returned home in time to train.

There was never enough drilling from his parents it seemed and this was his life; the life that belonged to the Shincy youth, Kousou Yuushin; a boy between two worlds. He wondered how long had it been since he lived his life this way? Always working day in and out at school, then honing his skills as both a Shinigami and a Quincy...as a hybrid of the two worlds none would ever completely understand his life. But it was fine, he came to enjoy his life and the daily routines that came with it, even if it was difficult at times. He could still remember the first day that his father told him...the tale of his father's biggest mistake involving...him of course.

(---Flashback---)

Shinigami...Quincy...Soul Society and the Balance of Life and Death; it was an equation that was never quite balanced. There was an uneven peace between the two factions since the end of the Shinigami/Quincy War. The in-fighting between the two had left the Quincy on a declining number, for many the two groups were never to mingle and would never mix...but life had its funny ways of changing such things. How it came to happen wasn't important, it was however the result which mattered most and the strange courtship of one Tou Yuushin and Niyna Shneider had come to bear fruit; that of which was matrimony.

From the day she and nearly destroyed Tou, believing him to be an evil spirit for the energy he released...the dual power he held was something that she condemned, but meeting the Shinigami...no the man behind the mask had chased her view. She had fallen for the idealistic man behind the dark power that he wielded...a Vaizard, whose power bordered that of supposed death gods and the 'dark ones' as she called them, the very thing she hunted actively in her youth: the Hollow. It seemed that life couldn't have been stranger with a Quincy marrying a Shinigami, let alone one with powers so close to the Hollow of which both hunted casually. Such a union was ill-fated and doomed to failure, this was the belief of her father who only respected the union for the sake of his daughter's happiness; he bitterly took in the fact that a Shinigami was permanently a part of his family.

It was only the day that the future of the family would be born, at this time that her father chose to become more active in the family. The birth of a bizarre union of the same powers in marriage; what child came into the world had been one half Quincy and half Shinigami in nature or Shincy if you will. From the day that he was born, young Kousou Yuushin did his best to bring pride to his mother and father, as his gifts of seeing ghosts had begun from early on and a profound kindness was already innately within him.

Life breeds one surprises and quickly.

At 6 months, Kousou was giggling and reaching out to the pluses that visited his room, as if he were born to see a world that bother his mother and father worried would cause him problems further down the line. It was when his parents noticed this that the consideration of training him to understand the world of spirits was finally accepted. Both Tou and Niyna knew they had no choice.

"Tou, I don't suppose we have a choice, he is sensitive to them as we are. His life will be in danger, he will learn to be a Quincy. I will not have our son in danger in his youth." Niyna was very quick to assert what path she thought he should take.

Tou smiled and put a hand on her shoulder gently, though he seemed to understand it pretty clearly. He could see their son would have a knack for both worlds, he could see the potential of his gentle aura; this youth could become a fine Shinigami as well.

"Let's teach him of both sides of his lineage shall we dear? He should have the advantage he was born with I think, no need to narrow his focus right?" he played off of it gently and smiled, there was no need to leave him only a Quincy, he wanted their son fully capable of accepting all he had to offer.

She grudgingly accepted her husband's proposal...perhaps it would be better if he had both abilities on hand. And as soon as she accepted it, the days began to pass slowly as they worked out their way to ease a lesson into their son's life from that day forth; he would learn to be both a Shinigami and a Quincy.

The trials began slow...but picked up as their son learned to walk and talk, they eased him into the deeply mystifying world of spirits.

--Four years later--

"Kou! it's time for your flashcards!" the sweet voice of Kou's mother, Niyna Yuushin resounded like the call of a lark through the rooms of their elegant home, her son came to her side and hugged her; she smiled and pet his head.

For the past four years she and Tou had been pushing their son slowly into the world of Shinigami, Quincy, and Hollows...little by little he had been emersed in knowledge about his origins (both sides) and slowly had been taught the beginning skills of both peoples. While Kousou had difficulty at his age, he was still quite capable and eager to prove himself to his parents.

While Niyna was very strict with teaching him mannerisms of the Quincy and how to maintain his dignity and keep a level head, his father was quite the opposite. Tou was a loose kind of parent and never pushed Kou on his manners or scolded him for failure; instead he joked about it and pressed him that much harder in their training lessons. In the end neither Tou nor Niyna were exceedingly cruel to their son, they just made sure that he was able to summon his powers at an instant; able to respond should he ever need to.

Now was time for Kou's visual and sensing lessons, Niyna had prepared exercises in their kitchen to train their son to tell the difference between a plus and a darker energy; those with dark intentions.

As Niyna held the spiritually charged cards, Kou idenitied each correctly without a second guess. His ability was natural and this was all the more reason that she tried him so often; she tried slipping him up when she could, but he had started catching onto her tricks. His mother was a remarkable woman, with a keen mine built for examining the odds of a situation, this skill to was something that Kou had gained from her; an incomperable intellect.

Soon after the 20 minutes of the flashcards, Kou had been through with them sooner than she thought.

"So sweetie, what is it you want to do? Something must be on your mind, you're so focused." she said with a soft smile, picking her son up and embracing him.

Kou laughed softly and hugged her closely, this was what he wanted. As much as he didn't mind the training, he desired the affections of his parents and almost took it that the training was always in the way of that. Just one year prior he used to throw fits over the exercises and now he simply executed them smoothly without much error.

"I just want to be with you Mommy." his words gentle as he leaned against her shoulder, face in her hair just taking in the sweet scent that he knew to be his mother.

His words always managed to melt any resolve she had for training, at least in the minutes off. She treated it like business on some ends, balancing her roles as his mother and his Quincy instructor at times were difficult. She had to be loving, but with a firm hand. She had to show tenderness but show her son resolve and to his credit he was doing well with it. She loved that about her child, from birth he'd been very malliable as a baby and never gave her much grief.

"We have our archery practice next son, alright? So 5 more minutes and then we go to the basement, okay dear?" she spoke sweetly to him and he nodded to her.

The family basement was hardly normal.

Made of pure Soul-Synthesized Silver, used to line their hidden basement beneath the false 'typical' basement. It hid reiryoku from those who could sense it and allowed her and Tou to train their son in peace. It was much deeper than the false floor and still the two of them had to be careful not to cut loose, as too much power might crack the soul-synthesized silver. It was bad enough maintaining the repairs with the little time she had managing a restaurant; it was lucky that Tou understood the construction and could repair it.

He was the perfect live-in dad. While he managed an online business, he was the at home cook, all purpose repairman, and when he couldn't do it; he could always rely on his old friend Urahara Kisuke, though not without a price of course. This was something that Tou knew all too well from past dealing with his somewhat comical friend.

Tou watched his wife head downstairs carrying their son, he honestly couldn't have been more proud, after all it was every day that you got to see your son putting up with such difficulties. Tou was thoroughly surprised at their son's ability, given that Tou trained him in each of the four Shinigami techniques: Zanjutsu(Swordsmanship), Hakuda(Hand-to-Hand), Kido(Demon arts), and Hoho(Footwork). All of this and he still learned all his mother taught him, from tactics to the rare Quincy techniques.

However from this day forward, it was something that Tou was considering all in mind, he knew their son might need something forbidden. And though he never said anything to his wife about it, what he had in mind was for their son's own good.

"She may not like it at first, but this is all for the sake of his survival." he said as he looked outside, before heading out of the front door and leaving his wife to train their son.

He knew that their son's skill was growing considerably, but how would he do battle with Shinigami that have been in standing for hundreds of years? Should he ever be found out, even the advanced skills may not serve him. He would consult Urahara, this was not something he could leave just to their powers alone. He might need to become more like his father...more like a Vaizard.

---Two years later---

At the age of six, Kousou had been under the direct tutelage of both of his parents for two years; his life had become quite complex for someone of his youthful age. It was school, studying, homework, and off to his secondary life: training, patrolling (with his parents) for hollows, and constant 'testing' to see how far his powers could be pushed. He found that his attending these three schools (regular school, and classes in both Shinigami and Quincy arts.) gave him an outlook no normal child looked had. He'd always realized he was different, but when he heard any child his age complain about schoolwork, he found himself chuckling. They couldn't know true difficulty.

At times it was a bitter pill to swallow really, being so different from the children had Kousou feeling a bit left out. While both his father and mother loved him and spent time with him treating him like a normal child, it still felt a little hefty to have such fierce training; it changed both his mother and father into two way different instructors of their arts. Though it seemed that he had no idea what was in store for him today.

After what had been the usual hours of school, his mother took him out for the day. She brought him to a secluded area just outside of the mountainside park they lived near, they spent the first hour and a half playing and spent the rest of his with an improved game of tag. He had never been so happy to use Hirenkyaku at one time or another. Since he'd first started practicing both Hirenkyaku and Shunpo one year ago, both his mother and father said one thing that seemed to mirror one another in philosophy: that he needed to grow swifter in order to enjoy tag. He still didn't fully understand but he did his best often when alone. He would practice using the technique in his room quietly, he kept his reiatsu as low as possible and repeated the steps as quickly as possible.

This exhaustive extra practive had paid off for the diligent young Shincy, as his mother complimented him today. She held him longer after she finally caught him, she seemed really impressed with his growth in the steps today.

"Son, you've done me proud today. I never expected you to get so fast so soon." She said while running her fingers through his hair and planting a kiss upon his forehead.

He relished her treatment from him and smiled as he held onto her. This was the kind of praise that made him practice, especially coming from his mother had always been a rarity; so it was something he really loved in her responses to him. After the practice today he felt as if he could do anything, though now it was time to train with his dad. Even though his father was easier on him than his mother, it was still by no means a walk in the park like today. Tou said he was taking him to train at Urahara's today and it made him curious, since he'd only met the mysterious shop keeper last year and visited a couple of times.

Niyna seemed wary of the man even though she trusted him, Kou could tell that his mother sensed something hidden behind his every action.

--At Urahara's Shop--

"Well sweetie, I've got to work a little later tonight, but you'll see me when you get back from training tonight okay? I'll come get you and your father tonight. And son, please tell me what's so special about tonight since your father never trains you second." her face grew inquisitive as she looked at Urahara's shop.

Her husband had not told her why train here again today, it was rare that he and Kou weren't just training in the basement. But he said it was important and by now she knew her husband wouldn't say something that wasn't true. But she shrugged the thought off, her husband could be a fool at times but he was a brilliant fool at that.

With a kiss to her son's forehead she saw him off and then drove away and headed towards the restaraunt. Unknowing of the life changing events that would follow on this fateful evening.

Tou emerged from the shop doors with a small look on his face, something that was unreadable to his son. He seemed to be a little uneasy tonight, Kou could tell by the way he scooped Kou up and held him close. He'd never felt such worry from his father before, each gentle squeeze from Tou made his son all the more curious.

"Kou, I'll need you to try extra hard for me tonight okay? I'm gonna push you harder than I've ever done before okay? But just know that I love you...its for your own good now you here?" his father's words still stuck to him in present.

Those last words that Kou would ever feel as a mere Shincy youth, that status would change after tonight.

Kou had smiled at his father and held him back and nodded to his father's request, if his father was going to push him harder tonight, that would be alright. Given how often that his father took it easy on him he would be happy to see what it was like being pressed harder.

The store had not changed any it seemed, as Kou was lead to the long ladder that led into the basement training grounds. The place that still amazed him with how close it was to the outside, the sky was so blue...it had always amazed him. But his focus soon found its place once again as he felt his father's reiatsu building slowly.

"Prepare yourself Kou, release your Zanpakuto...your going to need it." Tou warned his son ahead of time.

Kou blinked softly and did as he was instructed, he drew his zanpakuto, Kazashiryuu and looked warily at his father. Was so much reiatsu needed? He cleared his mind and breathed in deeply as he spoke the words of release to his Zanpakuto.

"Slash with the four winds, Kazashiryuu!" he spoke the words of release and felt the surge of increased energy run throughout his entire body.

It was still a rush to feel his Shinigami powers awakening. His mind sharpened and the familiar voice of Nagare, the spirit who inhabited his mind and shared her power with him was clearly present. He smiled softly since he didn't feel alone in this and even the pressure of his father's reiatsu lightened somewhat as he steadied.

_'Kousou, let's focus on what we've discussed alright?'_ the voice of Nagare resounded through his mind, a sweet soft echo of the young girl about his age appeared beside him.

Kou had been stunned the first day they met each other when he was three, when he heard her voice reaching out to him. He could hear her voice, her true name was Kazashiryuu, but as they talked he found that she enjoyed being called Nagare and had since become close friends with her. She was the one who often accompanied him in his dreams and someone he'd grown close to in a hurry. His very close partner in battle and best friend in his mind, they were inseparable in late; now they'd be pushed to the test.

His katana had become that of an ornamental Chokuto with a tassle at the base, a rectangular hiltguard, and a forest green blade tip. Even though only one-sided, as Kazashiryuu was a Void or wind pressure zanpakuto, it easily generated cutting wind blades from any direction. It seemed to possess more powers that had yet to be unlocked. His focus was assured now, he awaited his father's move.

"Prepare yourself Kousou." his father's voice grew suddenly stern, as his left hand rose to the right side of his face and the pressure suddenly became unbearable.

Kou's focus was nearly shaken but the sudden increase in pressure around his body, he felt his father's gentle reiatsu become violent and threatening, and for once Kousou was truly afraid of his father's coming attack. His eyes focused on his father's mask..? Where had that come from?! Then his father disappeared and Kou began to look for him frantically.

_'Kousou! Your left!'_ Nagare's yell had gotten Kou's attention as he turned to parry the attack.

As Kou managed to block the violent slash of his father's, he was sent into the air like a helpless ragdoll. He watched his father's sudden dash, the ground beneath his once loving father ripping up as he followed his son's flying pace. Kou stopped fearing, he stopped being afraid and focused hard. As his feet dragged upon the air, lots of dust built up beneath him at his effort to stop. He found there was no chance, no time to react, he managed another block that sent him even higher; towards the blue sky above.

Then in an altered voice he heard his father...and a sharp pain racing through his body.

"Forgive me Kousou..." these words were all that he heard before the blackness swallowed him whole.

--Within Kou's consciousness--

Kou felt the life bleeding from him, he felt something was horribly wrong...what had happened? He awakened in the meadow in his world...his mind, where Nagare lived.

"What..? Why is it stormy?" he said as he looked around him with a frown, the once peaceful meadow was riddled with rain and a sky full of thunder. The questions running through his mind stopped once he had sensed Nagare, once he heard her cries of fear from the woods.

He turned and raced without a thought in mind, the only thing on his mind was to save his friend. One of the best in his life up to this point, his father had not been joking when he said that a Zanpakuto was more than a partner; she was as a sister to him born of the same desire to do good in life.

The sight of Nagare rolling through the soaked sea of grass to avoid being nipped up by this great bird scared him, what...what was that? The great shriek from the golden eyed bird, there its dark navy irises focused on Kou and watched him with a vast intelligence behind them. Cruel and sinister, the intentions coming off of the bird did not appear to be something that was to be taken lightly.

Kou made it to Nagare's side and took her hand, helping her up while he glared at the large bird that perched on top of the canopy; eyeing him with a grin on its large beak.

"Who..is this Nagare? " He was fearful, body shivering...but his focus steadied his frazzled nerved. He knew that he had no choice in the case of even such a beast but to focus, he could not lose his friend or his own mind in his inner-world; not now or ever.

She shook her head softly, having never seen this figure ever once in her life, he who's darkness invaded the sanctity of the usually comfortable meadow. She gripped Kou's hand and squeezed it tightly while she stook beside him a moment. Giving a gentle smile, the young girl transformed into her katana form and released herself without another question.

_"He is someone to be defeated Kou, he is somehow linked here...but we can't just let him take over, right? Come on!" _her focus was realized once again since Kou's presence made her calm, he who was like a brother to her had come and saved her from this giant bird.

**"You know, you two are really pathetic. 'We can't let him take over' my beak, give it up little one this place is mine."** the voice coming from the giant crow who's laugh echoed through the vast sign of the trees, he seemed easily capable of dealing with this inexperienced double of his.

The crow didn't wait for Kou, instead leaping into the air and whipping its left wing, sending a small whirlwind towards the young Shincy; to his amusement the boy was blasted into the air from the shot. He moved above him in an instant...what Kou didn't understand this day, he would later to know be sonido. The giant crow whapped his spinning body with his left wing and effortlessly batted him through two trees below.

Kou's body twisted in pain upon the ground, what power...he felt the pressure coming off of this great bird and frowned even more; this was not right. What was he to do in such a situation? The power felt overwhelming...but he couldn't afford to let it get to him now.

_"Kou are you alright?! He's so strong, damn him...he has my powers, he has what we do."_ Nagare spoke in a disappointed manner as she watched the large bird land once again on the great tree, looking unamused by the two.

**"If you just give up, it won't be painful; that I promise you."** he was obviously toying with them, this would be something painful.

--Outside of Kou's mind--

Tou found himself being pushed harder than he'd ever expected, was his son really hiding such power from him? No...this was the combination of his boy and the hollow within.

Once again Tou found himself pushed back by the great pressure being wielded by the swift moving hollowfied form of his son. The beast used sonido and was hovering above the ground; the two great wings from his son's back was what most troubled him, he appeared to be some bird of some sort...perhaps a crow? Though the wings were far too large for it to be so simple.

"Well damn boy...you sure you have a temper, hah...I wonder if you really knew that you had it in you?" he was musing over this fact and seemed to be toying with that as an idea; he needed only to keep his inexperienced child busy. This was why he needed to come to Urahara's shop, there was no way Niyna would ever have approved. He knew that she would be disappointed in him...no, she'd be furious beyond words.

He knew that she'd possibly even hate him for doing this to their son, but as much as that thought hurt...he knew that he had to do this. This for the sake of Kou's future down the line, he had to make him ready for anything but any means necessary.

He smiled at his son's body, he could hardly wait until Kou defeated the being within. In fact he had no doubt that subjugating the hollow within would be a simple task due to one fact; Kou had a quincy set of powers that would allow him to easily defeat the darkness within.

"Your mother trained you well my son...use it." he said with a soft whisper as he deflected another attack, he didn't think it would take his son a long time to figure out what he'd need to do.

The bout between enraged hollow and his host's body raged, while Urahara looked on from the side. He knew that Tou could handle the battle and contain his son's body, but...what to do when Niyna was through talking with Tessai? There would be no word to describe what an upset mother would do in the case of her only child behaving violently in such a way. Either way it would not end well, Niyna had come looking for her husband and child about 20 minutes ago; and Urahara knew that her patience was wearing thin even if she entertained the formalities for now.

--Back within Kou's mind--

"I won't...I won't give up!" Kou said as he watched Nagare's form some 50 yards from him, how could this large beast be so fast?

He had underestimated his enemy and was paying for it, he had been thrashed straight from the battle's start by this powerful hollow form that mocked him.

**"This game is coming to bore me child, I will devour you and your world...it shall be mine."** the great crow spoke with a laugh following point, raising in the air...it was time to put this to an end.

Kou's mind was running short on ideas, he knew that this battle was going to end and in a rush at this rate; he had no doubt that this was going to end. Then he remembered...how could he have forgotten? His mother's words were simple, never forget the ray of light that shined within his soul. Though her words were more in his Quincy soul, he smiled at the sentiment and immediately raised his left hand; forming the thin bow of light within his palm's base.

In that instant all of his thoughts about his powers returned, it appeared that the Great Crow was able to fog his mind. But no longer!

An instant before the diving crow's claws ripped him in two, Kou disappeared. A shower of 6 arrows raced into the back of the large crow, who shrieked in pain at the sudden shots rained of pure light.

**"So it seems you remembered, it still won't save you!"** the Grand crow raised its wings, though it found them achingly responding to the shots that continued to rain on him.

The shots of light appeared to be his bane, the depth of which wasn't clearly understood by Kou. Despite the return of his Quincy powers, Kousou still struggled with the crow; who took arrow after arrow to the body and did not stop. The great avian's shadow seemed to spread everywhere, despite the wounds that the massive body suffered, a will as great as Kou's own remained.

As he felt the sky growing misty, Kou did the one thing he knew to finish this battle, it was to focus the depth of what he had remaining into his bow.

His father often reminded him that sometimes a powerful will would not fall unless it was met with stronger determination and this seemed to be the case here as he faced as with this massive form, this giant avian would not go down and it bothered him. For one reason or another he hated to see the bird in such pain, this being was a part of his world like it or not.

"Can we...please stop?" he asked the great bird, still gathering the energy into it; he would have one last pass with this bird and he knew this to be so.

**"Foolish child, I will only stop after I finished you, taken this world for my own, and make you watch as I devour my precious new power; the power of Kazashiryuu!" **the mighty avian made it clear; this would end when one of them stopped and not one moment sooner.

The pass hadn't lasted more than a moment, with Kou having raced past the great bird and staggered in his tracks after the bird landed on the ground. The young Shincy fell to his knees and took a hold of the ground while his bow faded. His panting having no chance to cease, while behind him did he hear a great crash. The skies wept only soft drizzle now as the massive bird began to fade into a smaller form; something to that of a boy equivalent of Kousou's physical age.

Nagare ran to Kou's side and took his shoulder, starting to help him rise from the ground before she watched the dark tan youth; who'd been the opposite of Kou's softer tan complexion. She felt the gentle ripple of reiatsu still eminating from him as he faded away slowly.

**"I'll bow...for now Kousou Yuushin, you win...but give me time. This world...this plane will be mine, as will all of your powers; even your precious Soul's light." **the words were serious by word as he faded into a subtle mist and drifted into Nagare's form.

This had confused her a moment at first, though she seemed to gain understanding of the whole process as to what happened to her. She understood then what he was and now what she held dominion over, she could not help but be shocked by the turn of events.

_"He is...he's your hollow, you just beat what darkness is within."_ she said this while helping Kousou stand, steadying out his weakened body. Then his eyes shut in the innerworld...as he was forced to consciousness by his victory.

---Outside of Kou's mind---

The great battle had ended with much of the inside of the barrier protected area scattered, large swathes cut in the ground from Tou's great battle with his son's body. It was only the relief of seeing the sudden pain in the hollow form of his child and the bird beak, wings, talons, and long tail feathers fade into light that brought him relief.

"Finally its over..." Tou whispered as he sheathed his Zanpakuto, his son had won after some 40 minutes total.

However his worries had only begun, as a familiar pressure shot through the room at the sight of what was seen. The pressure of his wife's reiatsu sky-rocketing at the sight of her falling son, who fell into his arms.

"Tou Yuushin! Give me one reason why I don't shoot your skull full of arrows?! You didn't tell me!!" her voice was pitched high, as her eyes narrowed on him.

In an instant she was beside him with an arrow drawn back in her forest green Quincy bow, the thickness of the arrow showing her intense anger, but best of all her focus despite this. Had it not been for his holding their downed child she would have shot him right there.

"One reason, give me one reason...you betrayed me, the trust that I have given you...god knows that I love you, but this is unforgivable! I'm taking Kou and going home to my father, I knew it! I knew I shouldn't have married a twisted dark one, not like you." she cursed him with her fury filled words.

The words that struck home had Tou's eyes fill with pain, he knew she'd be upset but there was no way he could predict any kind of reaction from her, especially nothing of such volume. Though he had no time to feel this pain now, he had to try to explain this situation to her, even if she were to hate him forever he had to tell her what was going on; had to tell her what made his decision valid.

As he began to speak he was stopped by something else this time, the stirring of his son; whose mask had fallen onto his stomach while he rested in Tou's arms.

"Momma...please don't...don't get mad..." he said faintly as he tried to open his rippling eyes.

Niyna's anger was replaced by concern as both her bow and the shot she had charged for Tou were dropped, she looked down at her helpless child and cupped his cheeks gently. This was one of those moments that made Niyna very human, a time rare in the Quincy's life aside from the day she married Tou and later made love. All of that fell to their child who was calling to his mother, wanting her to not be angry, she had no choice but to comply.

"Kou...your father did this to you, you are not in your right mind...let's go visit Grandpa." she said trying to reassert her earlier intentions of taking him and going.

His soft eyes opened again, some pain in them...though he was torn obviously by the moment.

"Daddy...meant well mom, this...this power...can help." he whispered softly, trying so hard to be the logical one.

His eyes began already to burn with tears, his emotions began to creep onto his young features as the first tears began to well up in his eyes. His parents splitting? He couldn't ever believe the day that would happen and didn't want it! Kou tried to continue but a whimper broke from his lips instead, he was worried above all else now.

Niyna looked to Tou and then to their son, her mind was boiling with rage and yet full of worry over her son, she could bearly contain the wish to make Tou pay right now. She almost desperately wanted to beat his face in, he was not her husband right now; but felt like an enemy.

"...Don't waste a moment Tou, make me believe again...right now." she said this reluctantly as she took her son into her arms and sat down on the ground, her work dress pooling around her as she looked at him.

Tou wasted no moments and dropped to his knees before her, he was shamed by his haste...but it was too late for that; so he cleared his throat and began.

"Dear Niyna, I know this will be hard to understand. But you know that our son's existence will attract the attention of not only mindless hollows, eventually he will run into Shinigami and the dark ones...the true shadows that control the hollow in the dark world of Hueco Mundo." the look in his eyes was pained but serious, as he needed to make this clear.

He went into detail about the world he'd mentioned before, she knew it as well as he had told her. The dark land of Hueco Mundo, where Hollows lived and where he'd faced the powerful hollow form that left him with wounds so serious that he became a Vaizard. He'd discovered the inner-hollow within and the use of his hollow powers, how he discovered the use of the Garaganta through experimentation and came to Karakura Town. The huge mess that all of this contained and how it came to be, he reminded her of all of this and that he knew there was some organized force behind the hollows.

"...This is what made me do this to our child. It was not some spontaneous decision or even a greedy wish to make him like me. You know I would want only the best for him and even though I forced this upon him; I knew he was strong enough to handle this." he said this last part more quietly.

Niyna's hand raised and slapped Tou in the face harshly, a slap which echoed in the massive training ground area.

"You complete and utter jerk!" she yelled as she looked at him, angrier than she had been before. Even feeling Kou's snuggling against her body did little to calm her anger, which was overriding any normal and logical thoughts for the moment.

"..." Tou looked at her and ignored the painful sting of her hard slap, he looked at her in some confusion and just wondered what was on her mind right now.

She said nothing and rocked Kou gently as she kissed the side of his head.

"You should have told me...we could have at least discussed it. I had no idea what was driving you to be such an asshole like this. You could've killed our son! You would've had to if the hollow took him over!! I can't forgive you for this Tou, not so soon..." she said as she looked at him with regret in her eyes.

He was about to say something, but the press of her fingers to his lips stopped him.

"...But I will give you a chance Tou. You are honestly the biggest idiot I've ever known...and I can't help my love for an idiot. But you've really...really hurt my trust you know?" she was frowning still, but the fact that she was not going to leave was enough to make him calm down.

"Try really hard Tou...you have to earn mine and Kousou's trust again. This is nothing easily forgivable, but I will give you a chance...don't screw it up you got it? Because if you so much as blink funny not only will I give you an arrow between the eyes...I will take Kou without a word to you." she said this coldly, she could not let her anger go; so she made it clear here and now.

Tou only smiled at this chance, he would not mess it up. He said no words and only nodded to her softly. She asked him to come home with her and Kou and he did as she asked, they returned...a family but forever scarred by this day. Little did he and Niyna come to realize just how important this day was; to forge family bonds that would later prove unbreakable.

--Present Day--

10 years back to the day of his original betrayal, it seemed that Kou had not been slowed by that act and had since still been training; from day to night under the tutelage of his parents. He had become far more profficient than in his past and was certainly ranked higher than any mere foot soldier of the Gotei 13. His potential had grown immensely for a boy of his talent and his father might rate him along the lines of the average lieutenant, maybe a little further than that.

"Mom, I'm home!" he said as he opened the door.

No sooner than he had were three arrows flying his way and giving into his conditioned training, Kou disabled them with the sudden appearance of his bow; which held a gentle crystalline appearance. While more solid than in his childhood, he still had a long way to go with it.

Niyna came to the door with a small smile on her face, he had improved again since last week when she pinned him to the pole outside.

"Impressive son, come in." she said before disappearing back into the interior of their house, still dressed in her working clothes. She had only just come back from her job this afternoon some mintues before Kou returned home.

While as he entered, Kou also ducked his father's Zanpakuto with his bow, before his father chopped the bow in two; shattering it into spiritual particles while thrusting the blade at his son's face in a vicious manner. To his pride, Kou dodged them each without blinking and continued to defend himself unarmed for the moment. Tou's blade met the side of Kou's Zanpakuto sheath. This thrust attack continued as Kou skillfully twirled the sheathed katana and defended himself before finally thrusting the hilt at his father; making him back off.

For a moment Tou looked ready to continue, but eventually he drew the Zanpakuto up and smiled at his son.

"Very good my boy, a big step since last week you could hardly even sense me coming; let alone stop me." Tou was proud of his son and sheathing his sowrd ended the exercise.

This was life for the young Shincy, still the routines of vigorous training had continued; with extra archery practice on Saturday and additional mask summoning practice on Sunday. Since he had become a Vaizard like his father, the training with the mask doubled at first and had recently tripled in the past 3 years. He spent more time as a Vaizard than as a Shinigami it seemed and the only training he got as a Shinigami now was against his father's Hollowfied form. The training had grown more intense and he had no idea what lay down the road for him.

Kou was no fool, he'd known that his parents had been acting stranger as the years passed, from showing him more care than they had before; to just training him that much harder. While he still couldn't figure out what all of it meant, he was eager to learn all his parents had to teach. It was his birth that gave way to a very unique amount of powers and just how far could it go? There was no way for him to tell, he was advanced in his skills as a Quincy and advanced as a Shinigami; good enough to be a lieutenant his father had told him. Though it didn't stop there since his father was eager to force him into Bankai and had mapped out plans down the line.

It was even being discussed over the wonderful meal that his mother had just prepared.

"..And so I think it'd be best if by next week that we start pushing you harder, you have to listen to your Zanpakuto my son. The person who will be doing the hard work will be you...you have to learn to deal with manifestation and then subjugation. I'm afraid that you will have to go further than asking Kazashiryuu son." Tou had known that Kou was too kind for his own good.

He was glad that he'd learned to be tough and to do whatever it took at times to get things done; but this did not take away from the worry here. If he told his son that in order to gain that power he had to earn it; then it would be enough. He seemed to be pretty sure that it would work for Kou; if he put his mind to it.

"I understand dad, me and Nagare have been talking about it for a while." Kou answered with a smile.

There was no need to tell him anything, since he and Nagare (as she preferred to be called) were discussing the battle ahead and that she would wait until he was ready. In fact she was already capable of self-manifestation, but they had not taken the next step where she willingly attacked him with everything. Kou was certain he could do it with a couple of months more under his belt.

His mother of course stepped in and spoke up, since she would not have her child putting himself at risk so easily.

"It will happen Kou, when you are able to surpass the next Quincy Exam I am giving you...this will not be as simple as the first three I have given; this fourth will slate you ready for the final exam further down the line. It will be in two weeks, so prepare yourself okay? I would like an even balance of your powers so you can handle anything; especially this Bankai training." Niyna added.

Despite her not caring much for powers she did not have, even she had begun testing his Shinigami ability: From Kido, to Zanjutsu, then Hoho, to Hakuda.

While she was no master of Hakuda, having learned several arts of self defense she knew well how to fend for herself without her bow. She used each Quincy skill to counter any her child used: Ginto to his Kido, Hirenkyaku to Shunpo, Bow to Sword, and hand to hand. She was happy...but could not help but worry as a mother often did. His future was looking a bit grim, as she knew that something dark was coming down the line...a chain of events that would not be good in the longrun.

And as the family continued to eat their dinner, the open of Kousou Yuushin's life; the Interlude of the Shincy had begun.


	2. Chapter: At the whims of curiosity

A/N: Well now with the prologue out of the way the fun stuff can really start now, at the very least to say, we will be getting right into the thick of it, as to what our young half breed will be finding within his first days of action. The days in his life beginning what some might consider harshly, and yet that could not hold a light or bearing to what future lays ahead of him.

Onto the first chapter and the unraveling fate of the half breed Kousou Yuushin.

And I will alter the scenes slightly in order to include Kousou, no I won't affect the overall outcome :o, but for the sake of giving him some exposure to the arrancar I will have to throw him mixed into fray at certain scenes. Please bare with me on this as I know many will be looking for more main cast, unlike many of my other stories this is more OC character centered, I will be writing another fiction later focused more on the main cast of Bleach.

(End A/N)

--

Chapter I: At the Mercy of a Traitor's curiosity

As Kou continued to live his life, training and schooling, he maintained a friendly face at school and had known well the school body. The Shincy did his best to keep an open life while at school and while genuinely happy with his life, he could not help but wonder if it was truly okay to live as he did? Day in and day out the training had only been growing fiercer and yet his parents would not speak with him on any threat. His mother had since surprised him with the Quincy Test on the same day she had mentioned to him, now that it was Monday he was still recovering as his powers had been pushed to the limit. It took tremendous control of his not to draw into his hollow reiatsu, as his mother detested even sensing it during a test.

It was one thing to use it during practice with her, though often she'd show why it did him little good against the powers of 'light' as his mother always referred to a Quincy's bow and their abilities. It was the inner-light of their soul that pushed them to defend their loved ones from the hollows. Yet she kept her powers in check once Tou had explained to her the detrimental use of a Quincy's arrows on the souls within. While at first she feigned not caring, she withheld use of her powers unless defending her household or someone in danger.

There were just so many things in his life that seemed to be out of hand, in late things had gotten only more desperate…for a while Kurosaki Ichigo, Yatsutora Sado, Ishida Uryu, and Orihime Inoue had all gone missing. About the same time that he'd noticed the sudden loss of Kuchiki Rukia from the class. It was easily something that drove him to feel the balance of things had gone very wrong. While he'd heard the result through his father, he did not involve himself in the affairs of his classmates. It was as if he were trying to maintain a secret that was unnecessary amongst those he trusted. He revealed his powers to the returning group, though he was never a core member of the spiritually aware humans, He had at least been an ally they could count on.

Months passed and many things only continued to happen in Karakura Town…like one big stirring pot of trouble, it appeared that Karakura was having a bad streak of luck. With the emergence of the Bounts, the mysteries of the human race were explored; while revealing his Quincy powers for the first time in an effort to rescue his classmate and friend Ishida Uryuu, Kousou had made himself a target for the Bounts. This only deepened his involvement with the unofficial 'Defense Force of Karakura Town' as he so playfully dubbed them. How could his parents react to this? The only way that could be expected, his father was proud of his actions and his mother while proud, was skeptical of his foolish choices made during the situations.

Even after the end of the Saga with the Bounts in Soul Society, Kou's unease still remained…as for a reason that seemed to be greater than anything he could conceive of. He felt safe that he had maintained some sense of 'quiet' about his little gift. Having well hidden his hollow-powers beneath a seal created by Urahara Kisuke to maintain a sort of tolerable presence when dealing with the Shinigami, he had to depend heavily upon what training he'd had to keep up against difficult opponents. As his father told him direly, never to use his hollow powers and only as a very last resort; as this would condemn him in the eyes of the Shinigami who were now aware that a strange half breed did indeed exist.

And the distance between Kou and those fellow classmates of his who watch over the small hamlet of Karakura Town would suddenly be ended forever at one moment. As Kou's eyes looked up and the sudden vision of hundreds of souls being drawn in to his horror, he watched the people falling over in sudden death.

"W-what...?" he felt the pull of pressure, of course he resisted it with ease, but he'd seen the victims and frowned at the sight of it. This wasn't right, who was doing this..?

He reached out quietly, like a shadow gently reaching out to the amazing pressure that he felt, who were the ones behind such an attack? He felt the immediate shock of very prominent Hollow reiatsu and shuddered at its vileness, he felt one was more blank and in that way devoid of any care for emotions...or perhaps understanding? The other was just violent for the sake of it, it made him feel that the other was without guidance; in his eyes it was to the point of stupidity. Then his eyes widened at the sense that he caught next, what...were they doing? They were heading towards the massive powers.

"No...no no no no..! Don't go towards it!" Kou took off in a dash, dropping his bag and doing his damndest to reach the park before Sado and Orihime arrived. This was terrible, why would they think they could stand up to such a force? He knew...they were braver than anyone else he'd known, especially Sado; there was a young man who knew no fear even if the odds were stacked against him. He knew the instant when he felt the power stirring, as he picked up his pace and the whole way he knew that they'd been there before he arrived.

---At the park--

The sight of Sado being healed by Inoue and the sudden view of Ichigo in use of his Bankai brought great feelings of relief to Kou's mind. The ease with which Ichigo took the arm of the bigger of these two hollows was amazing. He noted that Ichigo's power was in flux and yet he seemed to be pretty well in control. Kou took point to transform at any rate, his body's physical form being visible only to those who were spiritually aware; Kou moved in carefully through the wooded region, knowing well he was going to be tracked as soon as he raised his reiatsu even slightly.

"Wow...Kurosaki-san is so much stronger than I felt before, something's wrong though." he drifted off in thought a moment, sure he'd felt the reiatsu of his Bankai and knew that it was different than others, but it felt in a way...familiar to him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it while he was thinking about it.

_**"Are you a moron? or something? It's because that's his hollow idiot! Lurking in the darkness and waiting for the chance to strike."**_ the ever familiar voice of his own inner-hollow speaking to him, Yami Kou (as he had nicknamed him) had a way with addressing his 'king' though it was more of a partnership or comrade-in-arms styled partnership after Kou had discussed it with him.

Kou gave a slight nod to his comment, though it was just to say that his hollow felt so much more violent. He could tell just by sensing the feeling that this hollow was indeed of a totally different nature than even Daikaras was when he first appeared. But as he was looming in thought, it was the sound of Ichigo's voice that brought him back to the present.

"Inoue!" the yell from Ichigo had snapped Kousou not just back to the present, but into action without another word.

As Yammy persisted in pounding on Ichigo, his single arm battering Ichigo's face and body in a violent assault; it was with one move that Yammy was stopped.

"Bakudo#4: Crawling Rope(Hainawa)!" the surging kido energy wrapped itself around Yammy's remaining arm and crawled unto his body, causing his attention to be switched to the Kido.

Yammy's annoyance turned into greater irritation as he found the weak Kido stalled his assault on Ichigo.

"What the hell is this? This stupid piece of trash!" Yammy yelled as he effortlessly snapped the energy that had bound him.

It was just in time to catch a potently charged reishi arrow to the face, enough to result in sending Yammy into a stumble. Though as Yammy once more yelled something, another two arrows hit him; one in the face and the other in the back of his throat.

Kousou appeared then, teal tinted crystalline bow in form and the next volley of three arrows pulled back. One skill he'd picked up from his mother was the ability to focus multiple shots on one draw, despite being weaker it made for a good distraction during times like this.

Yammy's rage erupted as he let off one more bellow of his rage.

"What the hell is this?! Another bug popping up? I get to kill you then!" he raised his fist and moved with surprising speed, making his way to Kou and bringing his fist down fast and hard.

To Yammy's surprise he'd stricken the earth and smashed it with ease, making a small fissure where his fist was. Again another rain of arrows struck upon his back, first three and then four arrows hitting his body without much effect. Yammy's blindness only grew as he chased the nimble Shincy with his fist, swinging blindly at someone who proved to be if anything else faster than him.

Kou had one thing in mind: stall until the reinforcements came. It was a fairly sound idea and he was making it work, he hadn't even been clipped and making this lummox pissed off was the one thing that let Kou remain ahead of the dope. He wouldn't have to exert or show that he had Shinigami powers...he had done the spell offsides and released it; he was hoping that even the smarter one, the smaller hollow that he saw might buy into the idea of a hidden Shinigami ally. Little did he know that Ulquiorra was no fool and already addressing the matter in some detailed thinking, this boy was more than a Quincy dressed the way he was.

The situation was quickly diffused as Kou watched Yammy's pause at the sudden appearance of the reinforcements, the true saviors who were here.

"Are you hurt Kou-san?" the usually pleasant tone in Urahara's voice was as it often was in the past, amused as it seemed somewhat and in that same way serious.

He offered a soft shake of his head and smiled, he was fine but looked at Ichigo, Sado, and Orihime. He had been helpless by which to stop their brutalizing and help them further than he did. His eyes passed back to Yammy who was suddenly upon him, he cursed mentally and dived out of the way of the crashing fist; narrowly averting a disaster by taking a blow if it weren't necessary.

He'd tumbled his way to a safe zone, this being behind the Urahara and Yoruichi.

"More flies, doesn't that mean I get to kill you both? But that brat first, I hate weaklings!" Yammy yelled without much thought, lumbering his way after Kou and in a few placed steps was face to face with the saviors; though he couldn't see how more weaklings would save anyone.

And as Yammy's fist aimed for Kousou, he was casually tossed aside by Yoruichi, while she and Urahara had already discussed what would be done. Kou was silently told to get to safety and at this point he did what he was told, using Hirenkyaku to remove himself from the battle site while fate would continue as it was supposed to. He watched Yoruichi beat the snot out of Yammy and the eventual intervention of the smaller Espada, though the look in the eyes of the smaller hollows had startled him. Normally devoid, it appeared they held something within them.

Though only catching the tail-end of the conversation, Kou managed to make out Ulquiorra's last said words before entering the Garaganta.

"...You could not hope to defeat us while protecting that trash. My mission was a success and I'm returning to report to Aizen-sama, that Shinigami he was worried about was a piece of trash; not even worth killing." the words spoken with a frigid tone and yet those eyes still haunted Kou.

Even as this Ulquiorra disappeared from this dimension, the glance that he was given at one brief instant had him worried, he just thought something bad would happen. However before he could continue to consider the thought process, he was snapped back to reality by Yoruichi's voice.

"Kousou, hey you paying attention?" she noticed he was spaced out and lightly shook his shoulder.

"Hm? Yes, sorry about that Yoruichi-san, I was just thinking." he said softly while he looked up at the enchanting and mysterious shinigami before him; he'd always had something of a childish crush on her, though he always dismissed the thought. She could just stand there and make him blush effortlessly, and he would be had this not been the case.

"Well that's what I want you to do from now on, since what you did today was very dangerous. It was good that you wanted to help, but very simply; the results speak here for those not strong enough to defend themselves. You are hardly a match for foes were here, you are fortunate we arrived in time." she wasn't scolding him, just reminding him that it was foolish to engage enemies when she knew he was smart enough to assess the situation with a cool mind.

He gave a gentle nod and looked back up, he decided it best to tell her his thoughts.

"This is why I got involved, I just wanted to try and be sure that no one suffered anymore. I knew that I couldn't harm either of them, so I decided to stall." this was the plan all along.

She shook her head lightly, he'd missed the point.

"The cause was noble Kousou, but enlightening the enemy to your existence may have been more dangerous for you and your parents. Now what's done is done, but be very cautious from now on. The times ahead are going to be deadlier than anything you've known in the past." with this she stepped off to bring Sado and Orihime back to Urahara's shop.

The Shincy headed home without another moment, but he knew it would best to tell his mother and father what had happened; though he knew they'd both sensed it likely.

--Back at the Yuushin Residence--

After a brief greeting shared between Kou and his parents, he immediately told them the upclose version of what happened, including Yoruichi's latent warning as it did make sense to him greatly. Tou seemed to be surprisingly reserved during the conversation and saying nothing about his son's actions at first. His mother seemed to be proud of him, but also understood what he'd done in sense of putting himself on the scope of dangerous enemies. His mother embraced him and kissed his forehead, smiling at her son lightly; this told him that she was more serious than not as she rarely treated him with such sweet affections. Not that he was opposed to it of course, he loved whenever she'd done so.

"As Yoruichi-san said, I want you to be safe my child. Take every pre-caution to defend yourself, try never to let yourself get trapped, and if all else fails I want you to retreat and find help as fast as you can." Niyna's words were understandable.

She was for once not telling him act upon his Quincy Pride, but instead to just be safe...as for all intents and purposes, she was now quite worried about her son's well being. He was potentially the target of that traitor with no honor she'd heard so much about, Aizen Sosuke.

Tou put a hand on his son's shoulder and rubbed it gently, it was not a good sign as far as Kou could tell. His father was usually a light natured person and even in the threat of the Bounts hadn't been reacting so seriously. He knew well of the betrayal and had heard that Aizen Sosuke had defeated several opponents of Captain level with ease. His power was certainly beyond his Zanpakuto's ability and to the point that it had stricken fear into Kou greater than most upon sensing him just that once...he knew he didn't want to be in Aizen's focus. Though the chance for that had passed when he put himself in the open to help his friends.

"Listen son, you must hear me on this. Take each word I say to heart as the message is simple and about your safety. You'll be on his mind, just think...how many Quincy and Shinigami get together and have kids? You are something of a natural curiosity, keep your reiatsu low and if you can avoid it, do not display both sets of skills you have learned. If the situation promotes it, use those skills to get yourself out of trouble. Last but not least, do not take that charm from around your neck for anything; it is the one device that keeps your hollow reiatsu quiet and let's you appear as either Quincy or Shinigami at your will, keep your Vizard powers a secret unless you direly need to reveal them." this was all Tou said.

His parents gave him the night off given the new circumstances, however they were both working out new schedules of heavier training; it was to increase his power at a faster rate and if possible both Tou and Niyna would prefer to push him onto two new plateaus, as a Shinigami and a Quincy. Kou had gone out to the mall to try and relax, though that was hard enough anywhere given all of the things he had to think about. For the life of him, he didn't understand just what _kind_ of attention he'd be getting from Aizen.

--In Hueco Mundo--

As Aizen sat in the company of Gin, Tousen, and the Espada he watched with some amusement as Ulquiorra gave him his report. Watching the playback of the battle, two things had caught his eye that were worth anything in his vision: the girl Orihime's powers and on a lighter note of curiosity, the boy that was more than he seemed. After hearing what Ulquiorra had to say on the matter, he took only a brief moment to consider what would be done about the situation.

"Ulquiorra, I would like it if you brought that girl here, her powers which defy the will of God shall be useful to me." his casual tone had been taken as the written Gospel, there were none quite as dedicated as Ulquiorra was at times it seemed.

Though he said nothing about Ichigo's worthlessness as Ulquiorra had so dubbed it, his eyes passed over the Espada remaining at the tables. He wanted this special Quincy boy brought before him, though he was considering who to give the command to. Being as considerate as he was, he knew already who not to give the command to: Nnoitra would have tried to kill the boy if he resisted, Grimmjow potentially could become obsessed with killing him, Szayel would want to experiment on him, and as Aizen considered the matter he would not entrust this even to Zommari; he considered the boy was hiding the bulk of his power. Despite him not being a match for an Espada, he surmised it might be enough that if the boy resisted long enough that help would come; he was already considering that.

He went higher and glanced to Starrk, while certainly capable his Primera was wary of the matter as it seemed, the Segunda would likely brutalize the boy and that wasn't his goal, then...his gaze rested upon his Tres Espada; he felt she was ideal. She was a little too considerate at times and did more thinking despite the power she had. Aizen didn't care one way or the other really, but she would be the most ideal for capturing this strange Quincy for him and could do so without bringing him too much harm.

"Harribel, would you be so kind as to retrieve this young man? I would like to explore my curiosities about his powers. While he won't be necessary with the plans, he will be interesting to learn about." Aizen was a simple man to amuse, while he had his goals there was no such issue with exploring his curiosity this day he found.

She looked up to Aizen and gave a very simple response to this, she would get this young man and just bring him back; though she was herself curious as to why he asked her for the task.

"As you wish, Aizen-sama." she said it cooly and turned to complete the mission, however it wouldn't require her presence in Karakura Town for the capture of this young man.

--With Harribel--

Harribel contacted her fraccion upon the return to her palace, this would be a simple mission for them to complete; and should they have any problems she would be nearby to act, awaiting some sign of course such as their not returning quickly enough. This was not a matter in which failure would be accepted, however she was not terribly worried about this becoming a dire situation.

"Alright ladies, this is a simple mission: you are to retrieve the target known as Kousou Yuushin. If he resists then subdue him, but attempt to bring him in as unharmed as possible." her words were simple and brief.

Mila Rose looked at the image of the weak looking boy, she scoffed at the look of him, he was pathetic looking that she didn't see what the big deal was about him. Apache having a rather similar response was annoyed with the fact that he was smiling in the image there, if he so much as gave her a look in that way she'd punch the look clear off of his face. Sun Sun seemed to be indifferent and didn't make a show of much response, it was a simple enough directive.

"Hai, Harribel-sama." was the response each gave, at once they held the same respect for their leader, that was one thing that three women had in common, as Arrancar they were quite fortunate to have such a capable leader.

As Harribel opened the garaganta for the three of them to go through, she went over the thoughts in her mind again. Even though she wasn't present at the battle at which the boy was, she noticed that his uniform was casually darker than any Quincy garb she'd seen; it was most notably a dark navy and resembled a Shihakusho(Shinigami Garb) and that told her one thing: his powers were at the very least Shinigami in nature or perhaps related to such.

As Sun Sun, Mila Rose, and Apache made their way towards the garaganta opening, Harribel decided it best to warn them of her observations of the boy before they went.

"Do not underestimate this young man, it is doubtful that he is as weak as he appeared to be. His skills with agility and speed are notable, but most of all pay attention to this fact: he is hiding something." Harribel's words were simple and once more direct, she made sure that they understood not to think it would be too simple a task.

Each of the fraccion gave their leader a gentle nod in response to her words and she knew they'd take it to heart since she rarely spoke unless it was truly necessary.

Sun Sun led Mila Rose and Apache through the gateway and began to descent towards Karakura Town, it would be a relatively short trip since it was to be kept quiet and smooth. Or so was the planned version of this trip though it would without a doubt become more than was that if Harribel was right, this would test her fraccion on one fact: had they been sloppy without a true opponent?

--In Karakura Town, with Kousou--

As Kou made his way back from the mall he sighed, having done a little needed shopping and some recreation like time at the arcade and a late night movie before he decided to return home; he could not get his mind off of one fact: that he was going to suddenly be a target from his earlier decision. He somehow hoped it would just go away.

_**"Oh stop whining Kou, its pathetic to know that my would-be King is a crybaby. Why worry when the power is there to crush any pathetic opponents in our path?"**_

_"And you spear as if that's alright Yami-san, you know that we shouldn't be seeking to crush our enemies, we must show them mercy unless they are either mindless or heartless. Only then would I even consider 'crushing' anyone."_

_**"Therein lies your weakness, this mushy good-two-shoes act is really old. Gah...the only reason why I tolerate you is because you let me feel that world through your skin."**_ a truth stated by the darker side of Kou.

How had he managed to make a sort of truce with his hollow? By giving him a full on taste and sample of everything that Kou did, even occasionally indulging an urge that was within limits of Kou's reasoning. In one way this 'Yami' form had been born as a kind of adaption from the much angrier and more destructive side which lurked beneath this false calm. Daikaras, the Grand Crow hollow who would claim the light and plunge it all under the cloak of shadow that he would create. Once he had his time and yet...Yami-Kou was like a plague, he felt compelled to be subordinate when in this mindset, to be...friends with his king in one way. What was the bizarre feeling from within? A pure illusion, that was what he tried to convince himself of.

As the moments passed and Kou was involved more with his mind and inner-world than that around him, a sudden raise in reiatsu snapped the Shincy back to reality, his eyes focused before him as he felt not one...but three steady pressures around him. They weren't flaring out of control, in fact they were very well contained but enough for him to feel something of the truth behind their real strength.

"So, you're the runt that Harribel-sama told us to catch. Tch, your punier than you looked in that image." Apache made her comment, unimpressed by this boy's presence since he had little to nothing of reiatsu coming off of him.

His eyes moved to her, the partial mask that she held told him everything; much like the hollow from earlier...they were like him in a way, different and stronger. He didn't yet know what they were called though, his father had never gotten around to telling him. He knew better than to do or say anything stupid, as he took a step back he felt the other two powers steady once appearing behind him, there was no such chance for him to make another move.

"...I see." he said as he peered over his left shoulder and spotted the rather elegant Sun Sun at his back and Mila Rose on his right. He wasn't going anywhere fast.

He couldn't let them take him so easily, he used Hirenkyaku and drew back from the group, drawing back an arrow on his newly formed bow. He kept light on his feet, raising the right foot and preparing to move again.

Sun Sun watched him with a trained eye, he was faster than he looked as Harribel-sama had described, she also warned he was hiding a power and she could see it. He was wielding a power from within, she could sense that his reiatsu was being fastened into the form of a bow. This boy was more than human indeed, though she said nothing as giving the knowledge away would alert him.

"Hey kid...you've got one chance to make this easy on yourself; if you resist then there will be some pain for you, but understand its not your choice as to whether you come with us." Mila Rose said in a warning tone, preparing to move in on him.

He released the arrow at Apache and stepped again, appearing to the right of the three before releasing another two arrows, though his bow soon faded as he leapt into the air and drew his zanpakuto from waist; as suddenly he revealed his Shinigami, shifting into his Shinigami form and drawing the katana as he faced them.

Apache swatted the arrow away with ease, though it was a little stronger than she thought, she looked up at him annoyed and scoffed; so he was a Shinigami and some kind of Quincy? Whatever. Mila Rose and Sun Sun simply avoided the arrows and used Sonido to follow him into the air, Mila Rose was grinning a little bit since she was hoping for a little bit of exercise tonight. Apache used Sonido and appearing right before him threw her fist straight at his face, aiming to bat his foolish little face in for bruising her hand. To her surprise she found him deflecting the punch with a careful hand block which guided the punch to the left while he swept the katana towards her side; she answered the blow by raising her knee and nudging the blade to the side. She felt it slice her pants and obviously leapt back, she was starting to get really pissed now.

"You little shit! You cut my pants, I'm gonna rip your little neck in two!" Apache snapped, growling in her anger practically.

"Oi, calm down you idiot, we're supposed to capture him not rip anything off of him. Besides your the fool who's underestimating him." Mila Rose calmly said, her eyes still on the boy, he was able to give Apache a small cut, they didn't have time to play with him as much as she thought.

"What the hell did you say?! I dare you to say again! I'll rip your hair out!" Apache's annoyance with her comrade was straight back up, how she hated when one of them dared to speak of her in such a way.

"Working with you two can be such an embarrassment." Sun Sun said subtly, watching Kousou carefully, she knew he was about to try and run again.

Mila Rose cast a glare at Sun Sun but said nothing, as she blurred into a quick step of Sonido; she caught Kou in midstep and now had her own zanpakuto drawn. Thrusting it at him forced him to block and shot him back in his tracks, she was holding nothing back against him and short of releasing her zanpakuto; she was now going to devote her entire concentration to capture of this target.

Kou blocked her initial thrust and sighed, he was trapped here and watched as even though Apache glared at her comrades, she took point as the three forced him to stand his grand. He had no choice and thrust his blade forward at Mila Rose, while calling for his Shikai; hoping to catch her off guard.

"Slash with the four winds, Kazashiryuu(Wind Flying Dragon)!" as the shikai emerged so did his reiatsu raise a healthy complement and the navy blue aura burning around him as he did his best to shock the arrancar before him.

Mila Rose was taken aback by the aggressive move, but nonetheless blocked his thrust with her broad sword, meeting his force with some effort in her step. It was at least a surprise to say the least, but still the grin returned to her face as she looked into his eyes and spotted that determination to do one thing: flee.

Sun Sun moved in from the right and appeared to be sweeping her hand at his face, though Kou was no fool and used Shunpo to avoid her attack, before he blocked Apache's kick with his Katana's side and was forced back into the center of the three who continued their assault on him. Mila Rose brought her larger sword down on him in an overhead motion while Sun Sun appearing from use of Sonido moved in his his back, it wasn't about the fight being fair...it was about overpowering him and taking him in. Kou blocked the obvious slash and managed to meet her force evenly, while his body attempted to move to the right to avoid Sun Sun; he never saw the kick from Apache coming as it hit him straight in the top of his head and shot him towards the street below at an alarming pace.

Even the resounding smashing of the street didn't make her happy enough, this stupid kid had been trying to be so tactical that it was annoying her. Apache looked at the broken road that his body had briefly tussled across and to her further irritation he caught his balance and stopped rolling.

"Stupid Kid, now give up before you really get hurt." Apache said, though she hoped he would resist even more.

"We don't have a whole lot of time, stop wasting time Apache." Mila Rose said as she moved in on his position via Sonido.

Sun Sun said nothing and followed Mila Rose down towards Kou's position, leaving Apache last but not least to follow them both down. Amidst the dust they felt his reiatsu just as crisp as it had been before. In that same fact it seemed that something else was going on, since his reiatsu was building up suddenly, did he have more to show them perhaps? They had to end this before it grew anymore alarming, as even though the ladies had caught him before he could be close to anyone the little abttle was certainly catching some attention.

Kou had taken off the charm, he couldn't give up...no he couldn't quit now, these three had already began to beat on him and it appeared they were still holding back; he could feel something about it wasn't right. With the charm off his hollow reiatsu was free to flow and within seconds he'd raised his left hand across the side of his face and quickly constructed the golden kabuki-styled mask and drew it down. It was time to hit and run if he could, he had basic hollow powers at his disposal, not the least of being the cero technique that his father ensured that he knew. There was no time for that kind of use however, he was gone...and the dust swirled where he once stood, his first strike was on Sun Sun who he sudden appeared in front of; his left leg sweeping with much greater strength than an earlier slash of his zanpakuto, his foot managed to clip her cheek and shoot her back into the air of the nightsky.

"What the hell!?" Mila Rose was momentarily stunned by the fact she saw Sun Sun recovering on the air and the reiatsu feel, she felt a heel suddenly digging into her midsection and shooting her back into the air as well; while it wasn't enough to defeat her it certainly stung.

Apache was the only one who didn't care, though she did draw both of her Zanpakuto, tired of these games as of now even his reiatsu pissed her off. She didn't want to be surprised and just attacked him, with her anger and irritation backing them it was certainly showing her even strength with him for the moment. Though in one way she was a little surprised that he was keeping up with her and it made her curious somewhere in the back of her mind, just what the hell did he do to himself?

Kou was trying to find an opening and though his reiatsu had nearly doubled whatever he was letting out before, he found it hardly enough to stop even these three. This one called Apache was standing her ground and breaking even with him, he was trying to maintain a focus on using Zanjutsu, he didn't want to resort to Cero; he could see by the edge of the battle that he wasn't really going to win this. As he turned and blocked another slash from Apache, he felt a slice along his ribs and jumped to the right to avoid the rest coming from Mila Rose who gave chase. Now he blocked a thrust of her broad sword and slashed back at her, before releasing the first of the winds from his Zanpakuto, something of a jagged hook wind forged with his reiatsu which shot her back with the nameless attack. He could feel Sun Sun coming from his side and turned to block her Sai-like zanpakuto, the swift weapon was amazing in its speed. He found himself blocking with his feet, re-directing the thrust and swipes of the blade with what martial arts knowledge he had; from his blade-to-hand combat practice. Every instinctual reflex from years of practice was coming into play. Even as Apache re-joined the frey by swiping at him from overhead, he just retreated faster.

After a few minutes of battle, Kou understood one thing for sure...even with his Hollowified battle abilities...even should he really turn up the heat of his reiatsu; they would resort to something more drastic. He found himself at this point about even with them, maybe not a perfect match but he was close to each one individually. This would get him no where and there was only one thing thing to consider before they moved to more destructive means of his capture: surrender came to mind. He dreaded the fact, though as he saw the sky peel back, he knew that he needed to make his decision quickly.

Sun Sun looked to the garaganta opening and had forgotten the moment of time that passed likely during the small skirmish with this boy. Though her gaze carried to him and she blinked upon seeing his zanpakuto re-sheathed and in his lap, he was sitting on the air and looking calmly at them; his reiatsu had returned entirely to nothing, was this a trick? What brought this on? No matter, she began to move in on him though obviously she was prepared well to attack him should he move another inch.

"What the hell do you think your doing!? What the hell is this shit? Giving up so easy like that!" Apache yelled, she wasn't buying into it. Her blood was still boiling and she wanted to fight still, she wanted to beat him into the floor and drag his battered body back to Las Noches.

Mila Rose scoffed at this a little bit, but sheathed her broad sword and moved to his side via sonido. He had enough fight in him to keep going and he just gave up? Well as she took his arm and raised him to his feet, he didn't resist her actions. Sun Sun took his zanpakuto and held onto it, but where had his dark reiatsu gone to? He felt like them for a moment, his power had suddenly began miniscule as it was before. Apache was still the only of the three fraccion fuming over their battle with him, as Harribel-sama had already appeared in the garaganta, she signaled that it was time to go without having to move a muscle. Apache stopped her tantrum at the appearance of their leader and followed the other two back into the garaganta before it was allowed to close; mission complete.

--Back in Hueco Mundo, Las Noches throne room--

Set to stand before Aizen, with the mysterious 'Espada' that he'd heard mentioned at his back and those who captured him, her 'fraccion' as the label appeared to be, Kousou found himself under the gaze of their leader; the traitor he'd never seen but heard much about. This was Aizen Sosuke or as he'd heard 'Aizen-sama', something that he kept in mind should he have to address him with such respect. Looking around the room briefly with his eyes, he spotted the other captain, Kaname Tousen, formally of the 9th Squad alongside Ichimaru Gin, the formal 3rd Squad Captain. What had he gotten himself into indeed...

"Welcome, Kousou Yuushin to my palace, Las Noches." he looked at him with an amused smile, seeing this Shincy and peering through his very soul it seemed with a simple gaze. He found his curiosity deepen upon feeling his very Shinigami reiatsu, but seeing those crosses had him imagine that the reiatsu he felt; almost pure in some way was the sign of his Quincy blood.

"I thank you for the opportunity to be here...though I would have preferred not visiting so soon, my parents were not informed of my trip is all." he was of course being sarcastic, though sounding gracious enough. He needed the careful sarcasm to keep from being overwhelmed...in truth he wanted to quiver or cry...or lose control. But his iron resolve and practicality wouldn't allow him to. He held it together for now.

Aizen laughed at his words, a small chuckle but that smile never once left his face; always knowing and expecting something.

"Well, do not worry as I am sure they will not mind your presence here for a time. You will be my guest for some time Kousou-kun, I would like to test this extent of your powers...I have heard much about you, Shinigami powers alongside your Quincy powers. My curiosity of your abilities leaves me in wonder and so...I hope you would indulge me in doing a couple of things for me while you stay. This would include: Show your combat potential to me by a demonstration, showing me your knowledge of Shinigami powers, your quincy combat abilities and knowledge, and showing me your Bankai." he already knew that the boy did not have one at his level.

"I apologize Aizen-sama, I do not have this at my disposal...I am lacking the ability to use such advanced powers." he bowed his head respectfully, all the better to show manners before someone like this...maybe he could use this somehow in his favor; he had yet to know how of course.

"Such a well mannered guest we have. However, this is fine Kousou-kun was we will assist you in earning this power for you." Aizen's words were still amused but Kou felt grim inside.

The methods would likely be brutal, even if this man before him was not the brutal kind...he would be forced into his Bankai and he was already dreading it.

"Until this time comes Kousou-kun, I will have you staying with our Tres Espada and her fraccion. They will take care of your during our stay, and until the next time we meet I will look forward to our next chat." Aizen gestured with a light wave of his hand.

From the throne now he was waving it off, the order given with subtlness and now Kousou's fate was in the hands of the mysterious woman before him, the tall and silent Tia Harribel and her fraccion; he looked to her with meek eyes and gave a soft bow of his head. Very simply, he was going to be respectful and kind, the way his mother had well instructed him to be. And so...the troubles of the young Shincy began to become clear as his stay in Hueco Mundo was assured.

(End Chapter)

And so ends chapter one, here it comes folks...the beginning to the epic upcoming of young Kousou's stay in Hueco Mundo. How will it unfold? You'll have to wait until next chapter.

Till then adieu!

-Quentix Starwing


	3. Chapter: At the whims of Arrancar Nature

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or will I ever debate Tite Kubo on the matter, they are all his in idea as are the concepts I use. However the original characters(Tou Yuushin, Kousou Yuushin, and Niyna Yuushin) just so happen to be my ideas, so please play nice if you want to use'em or something. Just ask =3.

(End Disclaimer)

A/N: Well moving on rather quickly, I bring you the second chapter in the installment of my Bleach Fanfiction. I am really excited and yes people, if you haven't figured it out things are moving faster than my other fics.

This is more of a form of discovery and mostly from the hollow standpoint. In my understanding Hollows/Arrancars and Shinigami/Vizards differ like these two subjects of: Emotion/Feelings and Intellect/Thoughts. I will be very much exploring how Arrancars (or Emotion/Intellect) and Vizards (Intellect/Emotion) will interact. Better yet consider how Arrancars still feel emotion first, while having their wits about them they still act on instinct or what they are used to. While Vizards were Shinigamis who grew to understand they were not so different from the Hollow. Instinct is keen in Arrancar/Hollows are in that more important in what guides their philosophies and I just remember no matter how much intelligence they have; most arrancar prefer to live by that instinct; which is often violent like Grimmjow or Nnoitra. But it is hardly limited to arrancar, examples like: Starrk, Harribel, and Ulquiorra are potent examples of those who are not as simple in their choice and their demeanor drastically differs.

This will be coming out in the more intimate scenes (which yes are inevitable) throughout the fiction, I hope this clears up some of the things I will be getting into. Hope it gives you a glimpse into my thoughts as to how I portray the fraccion and their interactions with Kousou. And without any further adieu, here is the fiction. To those who don't understand 'Yami' is a translation I think roughly meaning 'dark' and this is why I have dubbed Daikaras; Kou's inner-hollow Yami-Kou whenever he speaks. This is also because Daikaras (in his fullness) is very violent and wants to challenge Kou again. Yet a part of him has accepted Kou's partnership and this part of him is that 'Yami-kou' that I refer to. Just in case that caused any confusion.

(End A/N)

--

Chapter II: At the whims of Arrancar Nature

For Kousou this was probably the best kind of situation for him given his standing as a prisoner. As far as he came to understand the other Espada appeared to be either too violent to be trusted with his care or uncaring about his safety in the palace. As it seemed the Espada, Tia Harribel as he'd heard her name spoke was the kindest of the entirety or at least the one with whom Aizen preferred to trust with his care. He was very sure of how this would go had he resisted or been rude, such things were very simply not wise to be considered.

As Aizen made it clear: Kousou was to be treated like one of them, put through regular tasks and well kept like any fraccion, but with one special rule and that was that he was also to be something more or less of an adjunct of those who had captured him. He imagined that was thrown in probably to test his humility or whether his pride could take it, but to Kou it was just as well since this meant that his position was even lower. It was better that way, if he did what he was told and simply acted as he had been raised…at the very least his health was guaranteed to be good.

Though this was bad since he knew for one fact sure, that since he could not guage his new commander's power, this meant she far outweighed his own and that if the fraccion/Espada system was anything like the Shinigami Lieutenant/Captain system…then the gap was endless and boundless as the skies of Hueco Mundo were black as night. There was the reason that he knew that he should not ever step out of line. Though he doubted it would ever come to simply Harribel dealing with him and in fact it was going to be likely that her fraccion would be the one disciplining him in any fact if he ever stepped out of line, it wouldn't be something of a big deal since they could easily handle him.

As he was in a daze of thoughts while he walked, Harribel and her fraccion led him to their palace and he seemed to settle in pretty well, there was just those thoughts on his mind most important. He cleared it finally and when he next blinked he found himself in the center of the large palace at hand. He almost did a double-take at the sheer size of the massive structure, he had rarely been overtaken by the sheer grandness of size, not unlike this 'sub-palace' as he surmised it was, given that Las Noches itself was a larger and far more grand establishment.

"Kousou, you understand that you are under my watch...I will give you freedoms equivalent as long as I come to find that I can trust you." Harribel spoke and watched his reaction, she was equating whether she could trust him directly or not.

He gave her a soft nod before speaking, it was something she could trust him with.

"Harribel-sama, I say this out of respect...you can trust me on word of my honor. I understand the situation and to be simple about it: If I were to act up, it would only result in my getting hurt. By understanding things as it were, I am not strong enough to challenge anyone here and making a ruckus is thus futile. I shall obey your commands without fail, of this you can be sure." his voice was clear and his tone truthful. He was being earnest in his understanding of the situation.

Harribel gave a light nod, while taking note of his fairly keen observation. Though she felt something was off about his reiatsu, she couldn't quite place it. Much to his word from what she could sense he was maybe around the strength of a Shinigami lieutenant according to Aizen's explanation of the whole system used by Shinigami. Even if his Quincy powers increased his strength, she doubted it was very marginal.

"Very well, Kousou I will hold you to your word on your honor. From now on you are considered fraccion, you answer to your direct superiors: Sun-Sun, Apache, and Mila Rose. The only circumstances that change this are unless you are summoned by Aizen-sama, Gin-sama, Tousen-sama, or myself. I expect the tasks to be simply completed, you are free unto yourself aside from that. You may do what you wish, but...be careful where you visit as you have heard the other Espada do not take kindly to Shinigami's presences. But you are under my protection, this will be something relayed. Are these simple rules understood Kousou?" she spoke frankly, since he seemed to udnerstand with little trouble.

"Of course, Harribel-sama. Thank you." he bowed his head lightly, a head-now and bow crossed so as to be polite.

She nodded to him and turned to leave the room.

"Ladies, I leave him to your watchful eyes, show him his room and then do as you will." she said this before leaving the fraccion hall; she had proper chambers for those under her with anything they could want or need within limitations of course.

Sun-Sun leads him to the room to the far right, it was the one room that hadn't been used by any of the fraccion and since they never had another join their ranks, the room was of course well furnished and upkept by the lesser arrancar who upkept the housekeeping in Las Noches.

"Kousou, you will be held to your word by Harribel-sama and so I will trust you. However, give me a reason to do otherwise...and you will regret it." Sun-Sun's warning was simple and direct, her hand held to her face in a very simple manner as she held out to him his Zanpakuto.

He accepted his Zanpakuto with a head-bow and both hands extended to accept the hilt and scabbard into his hands.

"Thank you Sun-Sun-sama." he said with a soft smile, showing the same respect and of course a genuine smile.

She appeared unfazed by his kindness, though gave him a small nod before she left him and returned towards her room.

Mila Rose was next to approach him and speak up it seemed in all, she was amused by his sudden choice but if Sun-Sun could trust it, then there was nothing wrong with it. She shook her head at him and then spoke as he stood in the doorway of his room.

"Hey new kid, I'll call you Kou since I prefer a short name to that. Don't call me "-sama" or I'll punch you in the head. I am nobody's leader or superior, but you will do as your told got it?" she got to the point that there would be no formalities between them.

"Understood Mila-Rose." he said in turn, this was going to be simple he thought overall, it wasn't half as bad as he thought.

Apache was the last person that he had figured on having to talk to and yet there she stood before him, looking very pissed off at the entire outcome of the moment, though her direct sense was to tell him to shove it all: his kindness, his formality, very simply she wanted a rematch and wasn't going to be waiting for much from him. She was going to clear this up right now, her thoughts were already focused on what she wanted.

There was an odd silence between them within the first moments since he said nothing to her beyond give her a calm look, something contemplating because he could see that she wanted to speak. But of course it wasn't that she wasn't clear, it was that she didn't say a single word to him.

"Look here Kousou Yuushin, you are going to be sucking on your teeth after we have our rematch. I'll leave the orders to Sun-Sun or Mila-Rose, you are one thing to me and that is my opponent. You aren't gonna give me anything more than that, do you understand?" she said it, on edge and waiting for him to say something stupid.

"Of course Apache-sama." he said with a soft nod, not smiling or anything else since he wasn't trying to set her off.

She clenched her teeth, was he mocking her or something? He would just give up and become a fraccion without struggle because of some stupid reasoning? Oh that pissed her off and she clenched her fist and then snapped at him.

"Your not my subordinate! Don't call me "-sama" you stupid bastard! Show some goddamned backbone! You understand?!" her outrage sent her storming off to her room after she'd said this.

Kousou shrugged and then headed to his room, he had much to discuss with Yami, to contemplate the situation he would need the input from one who understood this world and whom lived within his mind; this was something that he was considering to be of a point nearing emergency if it was not addressed properly. So into his room he went...to talk to himself, the thought made him chuckle as he settled onto the floor, Yami talked best through a shadow he found.

--In Kousou's Room--

After briefly exploring the room Kou found that the floor lacked tiamat, that would be fine really...he loved to string the spiritual threads together and to make something more solid. It appeared that it was more possible for him to in a weird way 'knit' together the spiritual particles using his abilities to manipulate reishi into a more solid form. This was something that was a great fact in places like Hueco Mundo or Soul Society where the reishi was far more plentiful and to a Quincy of his level, it was perfect for him to practice what was quickly becoming a hobby of spiritual knitting of sorts.

_**"You are one stupid kid you know that?"**_ The obvious thought coming directly from Yami as Kou sat and looked at the wall.

He gave enough focus for the dark shadow of a large crow form to take part and show itself on the floor and wall.

"What's with snapping at me for Yami-san? You are always so rude." Kou said while shaking his head.

_**"What kind of special ed kid are you Kousou? You pissed off a fraccion by simply doing one thing: your being too nice or too forward makes you stupid. Not everyone wants to be friends or thinks that things can be solved by discussion. Apache is one such arrancar."**_ obviously Yami was hitting the nail on the head since due to Kousou's blind attempt to make people happy or to try and be friends, it was irritating being his other at times.

"Is that all? Well then fine I won't make the same mistakes twice that's all, I'll have to tread my ground more carefully with her around." he said as he looked at the shadow, the bird cawed and laughed, and it was to this point that another voice was heard.

_**"You...are...truly the stupidest other I could have. You know I still don't like you since the moment I first met you, your weakness pissed me off. You have this gentle air about you and it's really pathetic. This is what she sees, not just that it's what she smells and what she now knows as a fact. You are thinking the wrong way Kousou, she's instinctual and she feels by that. Can you understand what instinct is? We hollow live by it, even though my instinct is getting dull by being one with a wuss like you, I can clearly see it in her. I admire the wildfire that rages in her." **_Yami's words had made Kou blush and this made him laugh again.

"H-Hey shut up Yami! That's not funny, to know that you are attracted to our superior, that is...unprofessional. This is a very simple relationship that we all have, I am the subordinate and I do what I'm told for now. Till I can find a way out of here or at least get stronger in a hurry; then I can't possible escape. And to that point I will do what I'm told, while it may leave me seen as a traitor. I would much rather have bruised and tarnished honor than be dead, it would devastate mom." he was thinking very clearly it seemed, sure being a subordinate hurt what pride he had; but he was intelligent and used that to outweigh what was important and otherwise.

_**"She's your superior**_, **_not mine kid. I have no qualms about liking someone's sass, in fact I think it's sexy. And you idiot, don't even look at dirty magazines being such a damnable goody-goody. You really annoy the hell out of me sometimes, but no matter since she'll be around and soon. You pissed her off and she wants retribution for hitting her in Karakura Town. Good since I want another shot at her myself." _**Yami of course was looking forward to a rematch since he wouldn't have to hold back at all and could show the fullness of his destruction powers.

Kou sighed but knew that Yami was right, though it seemed he had been too wrapped up in his own thoughts to sense his coming visitor.

There was no knock, Apache opened his door and seemed irritated directly by his mumbling and speaking and it wasn't until she heard the laughing that she chose to enter and see who else was here. She sensed no other reiatsus but his own within that room and yet she distinctly heard another voice. Eavesdropping? Of course she was, she had nothing more on her mind than this stupid boy that she wanted to make a fool of. One way or another it didn't matter what his responses were; they'd be fighting and for real this time.

"Alright runt, who the hell is in here with you? I heard voices and the other wasn't yours." she said as she marched over to him, the same angry look on her face that was in the hall.

For that moment Kou was being affected by Yami's thoughts and was in that same fact looking at Apache in a daze, his face turned soft red and he looked down at the wall as she approached him. He cursed lowly, stupid Yami had put thoughts into his head and he was hating that right now since it took some moments to clear his mind.

**_'Hah, what did I tell you idiot? She's sexy.' _**the voice whispered into his mind and was immediately silenced, Kou had to focus now.

"That voice was a projection from within my mind, one of those that lurk inside of my being." he gave her the truth, though kept up the veil of vagueness, she didn't need to know this to the full extent.

"Tch. I've never heard of that." she said as she looked at him skeptically.

"Well it is one of the things that most Shinigami learn to do as we come into contact with our Zanpakuto-spirits. It is the way we learn to become stronger with our partners." he said with a soft nod, keeping a very careful look on his face.

She knew he was telling the truth, but that face he was making pissed her off. He was being false there and now she had something that she could complain about.

"When I told you I didn't want any of these formalities, this meant falseness as well. I will not stand for any of these controlled expressions you stupid boy!" she said as she glared at him.

He broke into a smile, this was something that he'd been wanting to do for a while. This made her suck at her teeth, she hated the way that he smiled so genuine...what the hell was he so happy about?!

"Don't smile you brat!" she yelled as she leaned over partway, very close to grabbing his face and ripping it straight off.

"I cannot help that I am happy, even if I am a prisoner and not in a familiar place, I have my health and am being cared for. So there is no need not to smile or be happy I find." he said it clearly, not lying and maintaining a very light smile on his face, this was just what she hoped.

She was about to grab his collar and caught something out of the corner of her eye, she caught a strange shadow shape there against the wall. Kousou saw her gaze and quickly acted and just as she blinked and looked at the wall, there was nothing. He hoped that she might think it was just a coincedence or some strange occurance.

As she looked again she saw a regular shadow and sneered as she faced him. Her instinct told her something was off about this kid, he was hiding something and trying to cover it up. She hated how careful he was and just seeing this look there on his face; that same placid smile as before seemed to be arrogant in a way she found. It was kind and probably even endearing, but all she saw was pure and unadulterated arrogance; he was being condescending and thought she couldn't see through his damned tricks?!

"What the hell was that on the wall? And don't bullshit me, I know that I saw a strange shadow." she was trusting her gut on this, what she was nothing that was a coincedence and she knew it.

She wanted him to trip up...that was really all she wanted, she'd let him have it the moment he did.

"You did see a strange shadow, the moonlight was playing and I shifted when you looked." the voice was as carefully neutral as he could have it, luckily it was all true. She was a lot sharper than he wanted to give her credit for, she had seen Daikaras and he knew that she knew she saw it. But he had shifted, since he was uncomfortable at that moment, he was very very lucky...he would have to be more careful around her.

She gritted her teeth and raised him to the wall, she heard nothing but truth and yet she knew that he was holding back.

"Fine, try to hide your damned secrets. I'll beat them out of you!!" she yelled as she threw him out the large open window with all the force her anger could muster, she turned and followed his ragdoll body and once clear of the window broke into highspeed; she was done screwing around with him. He'd gone and pissed her off beyond all else, she'd had it. Rage was so much easier to handle, just find a target and fire away at them with everything that you had.

--Outside of Kousou's Room--

Kou had caught himself partway and immediately landed on his feet, he raised his reiatsu to it's fit levels and caught her fist as she came at him. Turning with her momentum he tossed her with that same explosive force that she shot at him, while he took stance and brought one hand in front of him and left the other down at his side. He had taken some Chinese martial arts that were offered and mixed it with the Hakuda and Karate his mother had known. With these tools he would show this arrancar and all of her anger that he was not so easy to push around.

Apache caught herself and skidded to a stop, her eyes focused on her target. Instead of being blinded by her rage, Apache had a unique control with it and thrived on it for power.

"About Goddamned time, but your going to need more than that." she said as she threw herself at him again.

Making her moves more timed, she swept her leg at his mid-section and aimed to catch him off balance by throwing a quick punch for his face a few moments following this. To her surprise, not only did he catch her leg with his arms, but he'd turned his head to the right and widely dodged the punch so her force flared out through the length of his hair and sent it blowing wildly into the reverse direction. While not one to waste motion, Apache brought her head forward and tried to headbutt him in the face. Kou countered by letting her carry herself forward before he tossed her leg and body off of his form, letting her fly forward while he caught his balance.

Kou rubbed his cheek and felt the bruise there...she was not playing, her power was nothing to laugh at either; as even with his elevated reiatsu in this current state he wouldn't be able to cause her any serious harm. Hand to hand was a bad idea also, since her Hierro made her skin much harder than any blow he could manage in this state. He removed the seal from his upperneck and slid it away into the sleeve of his Kimono while he drew Kazashiryuu. Now he felt more confident with his mixing reiatsu, he'd be determined to stand his ground better.

"That...is more like it! You stupid runt, I don't know where that reiatsu comes from or goes, but from now on if you don't fight like that; I'll break a limb." she said seriously as she threw herself at him again.

Kou knew more than to underestimate her, he blocked her punch with his zanpakuto and twisted the blade into a rising arc, slicing at her face with the counter move. Apache threw herself backwards and kicked Kou in his stomach, finally a shot off! She felt good feeling that she could hit him, his moves and counters pissed her off at any rate.

He recovered from the kick easily enough, in time to block her next punch with the flat of his blade while he brought the katana around to thrust at his face; one move he expected to miss. To his prediction's sake, it did and she dodged left while he caught her with his heel and kicked off of her and into a backflip. He used the force to separate them while releasing his shikai.

"Slash with the four winds, Kazashiryuu!!" he called the sudden release of his Zanpakuto and the surge of reiatsu gave Apache a sudden feeling that made her grin.

The defeaning sound of his pressure filled her ears and to match that her body lit up in a violent shuttle-loop display of her own red reiatsu; to her satisfaction releasing this much of her real power made her feel better. Finally a worthy opponent that she could contently use her skill on. She'd kick his ass and show him that what happened in town was a did he hold all of this back? It continued to bother her for a moment, well that was until she felt it again.

"You'd better use it all, otherwise I'll shatter your damn ribs and send you on a worthless mission tomorrow!" a threat of course that she could easily keep her promise on. She found no need to use her zanpakuto against him and to that same plus did she now seek some kind of closure, that even though they held the same levels (or near the same) that he was not her match.

To her surprise that was not as true as she once thought that it would be, he proved to be her equal in the skill of combat; in fact he was likely better than she chose to admit.

As they made passes at each other, again and again each one seems to prove her more and more wrong. He had skillfully sliced her forearm, her left leg, and her hip with his blade. To his credit he'd only taken a fierce shot to the stomach and one to his pretty little face once, it was something that bothered her. He had donned a mask one time in the city. His power was impressive to her now, seeming to be greater since he held nothing back, but now what was there to see? But this mask...she needed to feel that pressure again.

Without warning she launched from her left wrist, the near-chakram styled blade was sent directly at his face; from the halfway range even at his levels of agility he'd be screwed unless he used _it._

_**"Show Time."**_ to Yami-Kou's credit he had been the one to predict now when Kou would need his power.

At that instant it had been true, Kou's left hand rose over his face and quickly brought the gathering reiatsu to the side of his face, prior to the explosion of a dark gold and navy blue tinted aura. His power almost devouring her own in that instant when it had exploded forth, his pressure enveloped all of the surrounding and snapped to the attention of the other fraccion; Harribel too easily noting who's reiatsu it was.

For that instant Apache was stunned and that was all it took, Kou was suddenly in her face having knocked her chakram aside and to her own credit; instinct saved her a new cut. She blocked his Zanpakuto and withstood the greater pressure with her own determination. She grunted as she held her ground and felt her foot being forced to weak greatly, before she shot him back from her; on a quick blast of Cero.

Kousou slid back from the pressure of the Cero, before he deflected it off to his left and turned his attention to Apache appearing overhead, both Chakrams suddenly in hand and aimed for his face. He was gone the instant that she was within 5 inches of his face, while indeed everything was augmented, his speed and agility by far had been the greatest increased. Kou appeared at her side and swept the blade past her side; unveiling a mighty explosion of swirling void wind that sent Apache into an uncontrolled spin for a few moments.

She shattered the void around her and gritted her teeth, was this kid really this strong? He wasn't stronger by much she found, but it was enough that it gave him an edge; she was incredibly stunned to say the least. But it was time to end this game of course, her horntip lit the cero on the edge; it was time to see him put up with this.

"Pretty good kid, let's see if your wind can stop this!!" she was grinning somewhat, did he think he could stop her Cero?

Kou watched her and his eyes widened at the size of the ball, that blast was going to be a wide arc blast, that was what he was thinking. So he simply decided to counter, holding up both of his hands he gathered the swirl of navy cero around the edges of his knuckles it seemed; bringing the energy together via the swirling of Kazashiryuu which he still held.

For the moment she didn't give a damn that he was somehow using Cero, she simply released it in a wide range shot, aiming it for his body.

"Dodge this kid!!" she yelled as the wide-radius potent cero aimed for his entire being.

At the same instant, Kou released the fastest charged Cero he'd ever managed in his time. He wasn't sure that it was enough to counter her cero completely and so he disappeared, after having released it he headed to the ground panting. Before this Kou was able to hold his mask for as long as 20 minutes without being pressed, it was maybe at anywhere from 5-7 minutes when he was 14 about 2 years ago. How much had he improved? Kou wasn't sure, he had been using it for a bit over 6 maybe 7 minutes and was feeling the wear and tear from it now.

Both Cero had met in a swirl of red and navy, for a brief moment melding together before they exploded in a blast wave that made even Apache slide backwards from the force; she couldn't believe that this blast had managed to be the equivalent of hers, what the hell was going on here? If a kid could match her reiatsu then she knew there was a big problem with what she thought of him at first. He was just about even with her in terms of power and destruction, but that didn't explain how the brat could use Cero...

Before Apache could continue, it became clear that they had spectators of the different kind. It wasn't something that Apache was expecting, but not only were her fellow fraccion watching, but Harribel-sama had come out as well? The display of power probably had something to do with that she imagined. It wasn't like they were playing by the book or anything, she'd insisted on a near full-powered exercise.

Kousou's mask had broken by now and fallen off, he knew that his trump card had been found out. Though he figured it was best for it to be seen now rather than later since it would have been found out either way and there was no better way to put it than that.

"That is enough for now Apache, Kousou." Harribel's voice was calm and enough to show that she was present, and to her expectation both of her fraccion stopped without a word more needed.

Kousou sheathed his Zanpakuto and placed it back in its sheath in its sealed form, his reiatsu returning to their more normal levels; albeit a bit lower since he'd been so active in battle with someone who was his equal. Apache sighed as her reiatsu lowered, though she had wanted to continue more it was Harribel-sama's presence that reminded her not only to keep a coolhead, but also that this kid...was still essentially one of them as of today. She'd have to remember that.

"That was impressive Kousou, you were able to keep pace with Apache when she decided to up the ante. I can see also that your power did more than just rival hers. Your power felt a lot like our own...and to my surprise you used Cero. Care you to explain that?" she made it a very simple question for him to come forward and answer. She honested wondered if he would keep the truth from her? She'd smell it on him like one animal could easily sense the hidden presence of a predator...or in her case prey.

He needed nothing more than a moment to catch his breath before he spoke up of course.

"That Harribel-sama is something I inherited from my father, a power that is in fact very similar to your own. It would be me as a Shinigami tapping into the powers of my inner-hollow, the manifestation of which is a mask." he said with a soft smile, at this telling the truth would be a simple matter. He knew that she'd be telling Aizen about this and he would have the described terms that Kou had not described.

"Your inner-hollow? That is an interesting consideration...I would like to hear more about this, at a later time. You should rest Kousou, you have a task to complete tomorrow." Harribel had of course been simple in her explanation, a task tomorrow would be what he needed to conserve his strength for.

Kousou had bowed his head lightly and that had been enough, she nodded to him.

"Apache, see your sparring partner off to rest and then retire as well. Come Ladies, that is enough entertainment for this evening." the little show had been more than worth their attention and now it was better for them to be off.

Mila Rose looked at Kousou as he placed his Zanpakuto back on his belt and straightened out his attire, was he really that strong? She couldn't deny what she felt and this meant one thing of course: she'd be testing that power that she felt today. She knew that he was skilled after what he'd shown in his defense in Karakura town, but the fact that he'd stood his ground against Apache was more than reason enough for him to be surprising to her. She looked forward to it, that meant that the foolish kid did have some skill after all.

Sun-Sun didn't think much of it since a show of brute force wasn't too impressive. Even if he did have some tactics in the very end it was nothing but power vs. power, it was embarrassing to see that yet _another_ amongst their ranks shared so much in common with her associates. In truth it was just as well, she was the brains and both Apache and Mila Rose the brawn. They listened well whenever it counted and they could work together with her; though it was unlikely that either had half the wit that she herself did. Refined and elegant moreso after their leader, Harribel-sama.

Apache looked to Kou and grinned at him while she rubbed some of dust from her face and her clothing. Maybe she could at least respect this kid, he finally gave her just what she wanted and didn't avoid it: he was real with her and in the way that she'd wanted. No masks of illusion, just action and the power to back himself up.

"C'mon Kou, get yourself together and let's get you to your room." she said as she took to the air and tugged him along by the shoulder. It was enough that she wasn't much for waiting, drop him off and then off to bed; that would be fine now that she'd gotten to use her anger towards something that had pissed off in the beginning.

--Back in Kousou's Room--

As she dropped him off at the windowsill, she stepped onto the floor and started thinking about something while she moved to the exit. She was about halfway to the door when she felt his reiatsu suddenly spike lower, the darker reiatsu was suddenly gone and that made her blink.

"What the hell..? What are you doing?" she asked him straight away, surprised by the drop of his reiatsu.

Kou blinked, what was this now about? he had put the seal back on and hid away his hollow-powers once more.

"I am revitalizing my inner-hollow powers by sealing them away. It is the way that I operate since sleep helps my powers return, my hollow powers double up this way." a straight up fact that he gave her, this had always been the way that he operated in the past; he didn't figure what was wrong with it now.

She sensed no lies and felt that he wasn't holding back a single thing, but it didn't solve the moment for her. How could he just do that after he was using his powers so expertly in battle? He just wanted...to seal some part of his natural powers away? That was just as bad as wearing a real mask. A repeat of what had set her off earlier. Didn't he get it? He just showed her the truth of his power and she respected that, she did _not_ respect this show of weakness, hiding it away for whatever reason was unacceptable in any reason that he might have, period.

"Oh no you don't, I just got to see the real you; you'd better take that damn thing off right now and live with it. That is **your** real power, I don't want to see any of this holding back trash out of you again. Do you hear me?!" he was starting to tick her off again, he was supposed to obey his superiors no matter what. She wouldn't have another word of it.

He blinked again and was now confused, he reached out for Yami for some kind of help, she was irritable and he was unable to tell just how...or why? What did he do this time?

**_'Oh no Kousou, you will figure this out on your own...you made your bed, now sleep in it.' _** and again to his credit, Yami-Kou was using one of those sayings that floated in Kou's mind to his advantage, one such thing that made him laugh.

Kou cursed mentally and then cleared his mind, trying once to think this out without pissing her off. On his own he had to do this, so what to try now was the thought? He contemplated it for a few seconds and then spoke. And as soon as he did, he'd wished he hadn't.

"The properties of the seal make it more logical to use for regeneration does it not?" to this Kou never saw it coming, Apache was just too fast.

She threw him down by the neck, taking him to the floor and knocking the wind out of him. While he coughed, she had already been there in his lap and settling down on him while she looked into his eyes with nothing but irritation; the fire had come right back and set her off. He had questioned her for the last time and now he was going to be paying for it.

Soon he felt her hands on his neck, but they were feeling for something, he could feel her gloved hands moving around along the length of his neck and violently gripping the points of his neck; till she found the seal and ripped it right off. The pressure from the seal surprised her but it didn't matter; she was fuming once again and that made anything irrelevant.

"You will never hide behind this mask again before me." she said coldly as she incinerated the seal with her reiatsu, it was a simple matter of execution for her for.

She let the ashes fall to nothing before she decided it best to make sure he had no more. Without any word further she grabbed his kimono and began to force it open, almost ripping into it until it parted way and she threw it to the side, she was sure he probably had a spare somewhere. She'd find it whether he wanted her to or not, it made her laugh at the sheer fact that he was squirming so much, what was he so afraid?

Kou was in fact very timid and within reasons of right for his own modesty sake, as he felt her struggling with him to get his Kimono off and reveal his bare chest to her, she had been squirming and rocking in his lap. Pressed as hard as she was to his groin, he turned redder and redder in the face until he was scarlet and trying to desperately think of something to get her off of him. This couldn't be allowed to happen, not this way. He couldn't have her find out that he was not only excited; but now becoming erect at her actions. He felt shamed by his reactions to her, it was indecent for such at thing.

"Please Apache, you must not do this! I assure you that I have no more seals!" his tone was still trying to keep calm, but he could not keep the elevated fear from his tone, yes fear of the moment and of her strength.

Apache knew that he was telling the truth, but that smell made her want to do this more. She hadn't put two and two together at first, immediately that was solved. She felt his erection pressing itself against her backside and smirked more, was this what he was whining about?

"Honestly, for a Shinigami you are pathetic! Your whining about what? This?" she said as she grinded in his lap, his grunt had answered the question for her.

"Y-yes, now please get off of me. It is indecent for me to be like this around you, I cannot be like this before you, so get off." he said in an attempt to re-affirm his calmness.

But it was far too late, she leaned down over his chest and forcefully spread his arms out while she curled her legs around his outerthighs. There was something that he seemed to forget, in the world that he was in it was only natural to do whatever one felt. The stronger being made the rules and no pathetic pleas would curb her thought now, she had decided just what to do to make him know his place.

"Little brat, I'm not embarrassed to feel your excitement. I thought I told you not to hide behind masks, anything you've learned about these masks I am going to help you unlearn while your here. Stupid boy, this is natural understand?! I will show you what it makes me feel like doing." she said this, grinning widely since she could smell something else on him, not only was he trying to maintain deceny...but his chastity as well.

She seemed to have a chance to break him into this, though it was nothing that he knew; she herself held the same chastity, though it would not be lasting beyond this evening's time.

(---Mature scene ahead, to avoid move to the next set of "( )"---)

There was no wish to rush her enjoyment and as she spoke her words of choice, to her delight his eyes filled with dread as he renewed a futile struggle. As it were she ran any fight out of him during their battle and what was left was a pathetic struggle that would bring her amusement and little more she found. Adding to his strife was the fact that one thing he knew was absolutely true without question: That Apache was in charge and he couldn't despute the fact with her.

"Stop your whining or it will hurt more." she said cooly as she used one hand to lock both of his wrists above his head. Unlike Kousou, she had plenty of reserve strength left and used it to exact what she had been after the whole time: dominance over this foolish prisoner.

It wasn't because he was made an equal that she was pissed off, it was the fact that he dared to try and play with masks. To hide his true self behind these pathetic structures of society's rules and standards: like modesty or his damned manners. All of which made him weaker than she, this was a right that she had by nature's law: she the stronger would exact whatever she saw fit as a rule.

"Y-You can't!" he said as he pushed up against her, using his full body to try to move her. All he'd managed to do was press their heated bodies closer together, Apache laughed and persisted in ignoring him.

Then she headbutted him once and laid him flat on his back while he was dazed, she tugged off his Hakama and tossed them to the side. She removed his garments slowly with her fingers, looking his full body over and seeming to approve of what she saw. He was just as pretty as his face was, it was a handsome look well defined by his eyes and now full with an element that helped her undressing him to be all the easier: his fear.

Her fingers traced over his chest and smoothed over the several wounds he'd had, so the boy had seem some battle and had been hurt. All of his stupid tactics and strategies didn't help him, it was his strength. What he showed her earlier was what made him strong, these muscles that she traced over made him strong, not that stupid mind of his. A strong will made him capable in battle, those tactics slowed him down and made him her victim today.

"Tonight Kousou, you will not only become one of us, but you will also see the flaws of your thinking; it made you my victim and this is why you are nothing but a squirming prey that tries to escape the fate that his conqueress has decided to inact upon him." her words dripping with pride, her victory over him had been completely assured.

Without another moment's notice did she begin to remove her clothing, there was no slow way about doing it: she simply tossed off her top and her pants and panties went off as well; all into a crude pile somewhere into the setting of the room while she'd settled back upon him. Something that further stroked her pride was the fact that he stared at her and was at a loss of breath.

"Some lessons are learned hard, what you are feeling is natural, you go with what you feel. This feels right to me, for my weak enemy to be at my whim and tonight I have decided this is what I do. You are not only going to be bonded to me little boy, I will do this whenever I choose; lest I don't find the time appropriate do you understand?" of course it wasn't for him to answer.

She sat upon him and took his hardness into her hand, stroking up the length of him and smirking; she'd never really tried this before but knew exactly what to do. The reason why she knew? Simple and pure instinct.

As she cradled his length, Kou shivered and looked at her; was this really happening? He was about to lose his virginity to someone he'd pissed off...he wasn't sure what logical sense it made at all. What had brought this...

"Ahhh!" a sudden gasp escaping his lips as Apache wasted not time. His mind and thoughts remained scattered.

Apache had thrusted her hips downward, with great force she forced his length into her heated walls and let off a sharp grunt. It was a mix of some minor pains and to her delight mixed with a strange pleasure. She hadn't exactly felt such sensation, that pain was nothing like the pain of battle...she felt a sharp stab on her insides, but it didn't hurt as much while she wiggled her hips. She could feel him inside, shifting and moving as her hips moved; but each tingle brought her another moment of a growing wave of heat. She felt her innerwalls gripping him, felt his full member encased by her muscles and she squeezed him; hard enough to make him cry out.

"Mm...well maybe there is something about you I can like.~" she said with a musing tone. This before she returned to what was important to her now, exploring this new sensation.

Apache made her moves all varying: from her swishing hips from fast to slow, grinding to rocking, thrusting hard and thrusting softly. They all felt really good to her, but in her mind's choice she found that thrusting hard and slow, while squeezing him tightly made her feel best. She loved the way he pulsed inside of her, the feeling of his member within made her feel incredible. There were no words to describe what pleasures she was sampling now, it seemed that Apache had found a steady rhythm with him also. Her legs tightened around his legs, holding him firmer while she pumped her hips up and down. At first her hands on his chest, then slowly moving to his stomach, so that rising and dropping became easier for her. It was a carnal passion that was overtaking her needs to have this pleasure.

For Kou it had been a mix of pain and pleasure for him, to the point that he was in semi-serious pain and yet absolutely trying to resist the bliss that gripped him. Apache was incredibly strong, as he imagined she was easily capable of hurting him as her harder thrusts nearly crushed his pelvis. He was fortunate that at least while in his Shinigami-form he would not be hurt so easily in a more permanent manner. He let off soft moans and gasps, as each of her moves that radically changed threw him for a spin; his mind was nothing but a mash of thoughts that were trying to steady themselves out, he had no control. Being in utter chaos within his mind, Kou did the only thing that he felt that he could right now, squirm and clench his fists as Apache rode him. There was no choice in the matter.

In that same fact Apache was just enjoying every moment of watching his squirming and his clenching fists, she was really having this kind of an affect on him. There was no mask here between them. It was her flesh to his flesh, his heat encompassed by her own, and most of all her dominance being established through an act he seemed to fear. She stopped thinking about what she was doign to him and just about the building heat within her. Where it came from? It didn't matter...it felt good...not it felt hot...amazing! Her hips slapped harder against his while she squeezed and kneaded his member within her heat, oh...it was something irresistable to her.

She was suddenly close to something? She couldn't place her fingers on it...oh yes...as her hips began to pound his harder, she knew whatever it was she was close to. A glow...some kind of glow! She could see it whenever her eyes shut, yes...yes it was right there on the edge. She tightened her knees around his thighs and pounded him harder, grabbing his shoulders while she jammed him into the harder harshly, so close...so very close!

Then it hit her, her prey was weak and had given up first, she felt him reaching his peak first. He went rigid and arced his back while she suddenly yanked him back up by his shoulders, she brought him up to face her and slammed down on him hard; even during the sudden feeling of his essence filling her. It was truly glorious of a feeling to have, but she was fighting for her own release and grinded hard at his base a few times before bucking him into her once more before she shuddered and rested tightly against him, bringing up one leg around his lowerback, gripping his waist tightly with that leg as she let off a cry; something strong from even her that echoed the room and the halls outside before she felt her body suddenly go limp.

(---End Mature content---)

There was a moment of silence between the two, just a moment of panting from the both of them. For Apache it was a very odd sensation the whole thing, she felt something strange with the boy as she looked down at his flushed face; she briefly looked him over and was satisfied with that look on his face. She saw relief on his face and it wasn't because she stopped.

For a few more moments the silence remained, that had been of course until Apache had finally come up with something to say.

"Remember this night Kousou Yuushin, the night that I claimed you and showed you what being true to oneself is really like. This is something that perhaps none of you pitiful Shinigami can ever grasp. But like it or not, I've made you see the light. Understand I will do this whenever I want: You are my subordinate just as Harribel-sama has told you." she said with a proud look on her face.

She saw the vulnerability of his weakness and she liked it, she preferred this side to him and saw that look in his eyes; he understood her perfectly.

"But you will address me only as Apache, I will hear no formalities from you. At least in battle you are an equal, albeit pathetic when your power leaves you. There is nothing then to protect you, and as your superior I'll see you toughen up." she mused a moment.

She hadn't contemplated ever getting up or leaving his room at first, though she considered things for a moment. The time had passed while this act had been commenced. She sighed once and got up, feeling his limp length slide out of her annoyed her; though more from the fact that she enjoyed the way it felt. Well that mattered not, in her leisure this would be her act alone to take from Kousou. She might have found the boy pitiful, but at least he had this merit to him; he'd be a decent subordinated provided she learned ways to make it even better.

"And you will tell no one else of this...little activity. Clean up and get some sleep, tomorrow's a busy day." she said before re-dressed and went to go bathe. The only way of course to remove his scent from her body, though of course she hadn't considered that it might be simple to trace by other standards; she figured it would all be fine by tomorrow. Her little secret.

But even as Kou used their oversized bath and soaked, he could feel of the aches present on his body, his pelvis in particular was aching with a dull pain. The soothing water and some of their oils helped. His body was going to heal decently fast with all of his reiatsu present, but he knew that such unsightly moments of his limp would still be present; he surmised one outcome. The other fraccion and likely Harribel-sama would know of what happened.

--The Next Day--

As simply as the day began, Kou went about daily ritual of stretching out and doing some warm-ups for the morning. He kept his reiatsu low by constant practice of exerting power without using up much of his resevoir of energy. The practice was what made him so smooth in everything he did: his swordplay, his hand-to-hand, his archery, and his spells. Yes Kido might be useful in his activities here, his slaying hollows would purify them he imagined; especially if they were common it would be of a simple matter.

Though as he practiced a few kicks, he felt the pain in his leg around his pelvis. Even though the stretching helped loosen up the tight muscle he knew it would ache for at least the next two days, maybe one or less. If it was anything that he'd noticed with the freedom of his hollow reiatsu mixing with his regular flow, that his body seemed to react in a more positive way. Everything was heightened, of the general senses and his healing, with this even his reflexes were masterful. He was fine for the day, but being found out was something he hoped to avoid as well. He had no idea what the reaction would be.

Harribel had sent her fraccion to settle a small uprising in a village of Hollow not far from Hueco Mundo. There were many factions that opposed Aizen-sama's rule on the grounds that only a hollow could truly rule Hueco Mundo, they were putting it within the ways of saying that he was nothing more than a dirty Shinigami who was distorting things. All sorts of conjecture rising that was basically irrelevant, the mission was very simple: Quell them peacefully unless they preferred battle. Harribel was betting on the latter.

While on the move, Apache had made her glances at Kousou, obviously she was noticing more of his appearance while maintaining an outward sneer. She had overall decided he wasn't so bad once he wasn't running his mouth and he was on the ground beneath her; where he belonged. Only then was he really tolerable.

Meanwhile being as perceptive as either of them were, Sun-Sun and Mila-Rose had easily caught onto the strange limps that Kousou gave whenever he wasn't toughing it out, his Shunpo was fast enough to move with their Sonido at his mixed reiatsu's level. He was going to be tested by his performance both here and when under Aizen's influence. Mila Rose was curious about his limps, he hadn't taken any damage in his fight with Apache she noted and now he had some bruises; plus his scent smelled fresh of the bath, but with a hint of something familiar to her.

She mused over what it could be while they headed to their little job, it wouldn't last long at any rate and she would be finished there in a hurry. It was all in the matter of how he chose to react to her prodding, now the prey they'd caught was under the gaze of a curious lioness; he had better watch his step.

(End Chapter)

Now indeed the longest chapter I have written, the content is most certainly going to make the series interesting. As you can imagine I am going to be experimenting and exploring with my knowledge of the arrancar and their relation to a Vizard whose very being is confusing to the question.

Now the question is what will happen if Mila Rose finds out right? There are so many things in mind to bring forth as a question. Far to many to let pass. Well hope you enjoyed the chapter, and see you around for the next one.

-Quentix


	4. Chapter:At the mercy of a predator gaze

A/N: Well onto the next chapter, as you have noticed the fiction is off to a strong start. What next for Kousou? But a very strange time as it goes on, Kousou's strange relationship has become very open with Apache who took something very important while sharing that same thing with him. This however does not end there, it is not to say that Kou will have much of a say in the matter either, after all he is the victim here right? But as you will see, his mere presence has already changed the way things are not only seen but felt as well. His will to grow and assert change in those around him will be present; now without any further ado we shall begin the continued expedition into the unknowns of bonding between a Vizard and those arrancar who are his captors as well as caretakers.

(End A/N)

--

Chapter III: At the mercy of a Predator's Gaze

It was mission at hand that was in fact almost a screen for Mila-Rose by which to view what changes had occurred between her comrade and their charge to keep an eye on. Given Apache's usual nature it honestly wasn't that hard for Mila Rose to take notice, as she often watched Apache's every action and treated it with contempt whenever she found it something that was mellow dramatic or pointless in its outcome. She watched Apache's looming eyes sizing Kousou up, at first Mila Rose was almost certain she would attack him during the battle as it went on. She was about to reprimand her foolishness since they weren't allowed to hurt the boy, or hadn't she heard Harribel-sama yesterday?

Then Apache had a subversive look in her gaze and Mila-Rose did take notice that she was not glaring at him or sizing him up for when to attack, she was eyeing his actions closely. This left her at a loss to explain what it was that Apache was watching him for, since whenever she watched Kou all she saw was him in motion. He was an impressive sight of skill but it showed very little. His form while executed flawlessly; lacked any real power and she found that he was lacking in the overall strength to keep up with her. She decided to call Apache out on it the way she usually did.

"Oi, moron what are you doing? You shouldn't be watching the new kid, get back to work here. This scum is resisting the word of Aizen-sama, meaning they want battle. So give it to them instead of looking at the kid like some stupid moping antelope." Obviously musing over the simple fact that she was basically food, albeit strong enough to well avoid such predation, it didn't change that original standing still.

Most of all to her surprise Apache reacted slowly, while glaring at her she noticed that she was blushing for a second.

"Shut the hell up you stupid Gorilla! Do I look like I'm staring?" Apache retorted quick to her anger and had commented of course without another word, it seemed pretty clear that she was not going to be wasting her time with a conflict alongside her foolish comrade's bait right now.

As Apache disappeared via quick use of Sonido, she went off to destroy some of these lesser hollows that outright chose rebellion. That was fine if they wanted to play. She was sizing up Kousou alright, but for different reasons that were oblivious to Mila-Rose. She was deciding when it was best to have that same pleasure as the night before since she was so into that thought. The outcome of it was not out of her reach, she had achieved a forcible understanding with him last night. She'd showed him who was in true command and she knew that due to the way that he had blushed in response to her look, she felt drawn to him in a very strong way. He was in one way a kind of passion to her, something to get lost in and to help her forget a lousy day.

He brought her such pleasures and his innocence was hers to indulge in again and again, these carnal thoughts did cloud her mind even now. As she found herself catching the large fist of some pitiful hollow that dared to lash out at her, without much effort she took that large arm and ripped it clean off; before suddenly appearing in the hollow's face and splitting his face with little effort from her.

"Damn it, stupid bastard…I need to focus." She uttered to herself before going back to the job of scattering this gathered force of hollows, albeit small they still dared to resist and that in itself was still worth their attentions.

Her actions did not go unnoticed, just as her words were not only heard but reacted to as well. Mila-Rose smirked since it was just as she thought; her mind had told her something was up just like her instinct had. She knew that it wasn't something based upon battle, since Apache would never be distracted by such things. She would have to see Kou about that answer, that was exactly what the lioness decided she'd be doing; the mission was already over since there was no way a squat force of this nature could even touch them.

Mila-Rose watched Kou and had to give him a little nod of respect since the boy had good instincts and could obey himself and his body's actions. She watched him every now and then and his actions were of course nothing but motion of excellence from each one step he took, there was little to no wasted effort within his moves; she liked the refinement that she saw.

For Kou it was just another day of his purifying hollows, he thought nothing of defeating these warriors who were fighting for some kind of wish or ideal that was in their minds and it was definitely something that earned his respect. But of course they were still to be defeated as per his word, his actions were fairly simple in nature: he thrust his katana, slashed, and bisected those hollow that attacked him. Going out of his way to see that this ended faster so that he'd have more time to himself, he planned to take the day to recover from what had happened the day before.

To be blunt he had never felt such overpowering actions before, Apache had put him into a world that left him feeling very strange. He felt something towards her, some kind of a strange evenness or a connection of sorts that he could not explain with words. There was something between them and he had a strange feeling that everyone else knew, his fellow fraccion(and superiors) both knew in some way by instinct. He didn't need Yami-san to tell him that, he was oh so sure that this was a result of what he and Apache had done. By the standards of other foolish boys his age, he'd become a man…according to Yami, he'd become a man. But he did not feel that he had grown, however he did feel a strange sort of sobering feeling that invaded his heart and soul. He felt that he could act less shy…but that did not change the overall result of one thing in his life: the meekness that remained. Had he truly done such an act? The pain from the evening's tussle on the floor of his room told him yes.

This remained on his mind as the last hollow fell and Sun-Sun led the group back towards Las Noches with the rebellion quelled. As Kou imagined, the majority of hollows had stayed and were destroyed. But this was nothing that needed to remain in his mind, he'd done as he was told and they had succeeded with ease.

--Back in the Fraccion Hall—

Harribel had been thanking them for their service and speaking to them on the matter of those who fell. She seemed to care so much about even their enemy, she seemed to understand their thoughts and why they resisted. It was something about that which made Kou admire her more…she was far more insightful than he'd given her credit for and that made him feel some shame. He'd underestimated who she was when he thought that he'd given her the credit she was due, but he caught simple notice that he fell very short of that. While she did not know the inner workings of the young shincy boy, she knew well enough that he was thinking about something.

"A good job for your first mission Kousou, you work well with your fellow fraccion. You are free to retire and do as you wish to." she said before officially giving them free reign to do as they wished.

With the job done there was nothing left for them to do in the day lest another mission came to Harribel's attentions. Though for the time being it was just a simple little manner of them leading thought by thought to each their own mind. Mila-Rose had plans to get information out of Kousou, long as she reached him before Apache had planned to do whatever.

As Kou headed to his room, he was met walking partway by Mila-Rose who looked at him with a small grin. Showing her teeth of course to indicate that she had something in reason for being here, and of course Kou was no fool. He could see that grin and read into it a little bit, he took a wild jab at the fact that she seemed to know something. Of what? He wasn't sure but he would play it cool and not overact on the matter, as long as her kept himself under some decent control it wouldn't be that bad he thought.

"Hey Kou, what're you planning to do with that free time of yours?" Mila decided to ask him away, she'd simply pull him aside as soon as she found out he was doing nothing like she thought.

He was clueless to her plans and just decided to give it an honest answer since he found no reason not to in the longrun. He thought it would be fine enough to give a word and then retreat to his room. So he answered.

"Not so much, I was going to have Tea and then I would practice some more today. Since there is so much time still left, the mission was a success and we completed it faster, as I imagined you three are far stronger than I myself." he said this, well as a means of being humble while he drew back. Since this was of course a fact it wasn't going to be desputed.

"Well you can do that later Kou, you come with me and we will talk!" she said with a big grin, well obviously she was going to prod the information out of him and since he couldn't resist that much (as she predicts); it would be fun to sate her curiosity.

Just then she was cut off taking Kou towards her room by Apache, who glared at her and then gave her a look of irritation.

"What the hell do you think your doing Mila-Rose? I'll be the one occupying his time right now, so go bother some low-grade hollow." she said as she stepped towards them.

"Oi, when the hell did you decide that? Besides, you wasted your time fighting him yesterday, I can occupy his time if I damn well want. Go discuss it with Sun-Sun if your brain is too small to remember this: Each of us may occupy his time in a limited fashion but not overwhelm him, due to his duties as a fraccion and being under Aizen-sama's overall command ahead of us all." Mila-Rose made the rule very clear for her.

It was something that Apache had ignored after hearing that they could do what they wished, her plan was shot to shreds and she was pissed for the better of the moment.

"Stupid Gorilla-tits." she said before she stormed off towards her room, she'd just get him when he went back to his room. Though in her case she simply did not want to wait, though she would have to now.

Mila-Rose ignored the snide comment and tugged on Kou's arm, she brought him straight to her room since she was going to get all of the juicy goods out of him. Obviously this was within her rights and she was going to exploit it for all that it was worth, it wouldn't be a problem at all. Since the prey so willingly was walking into the den of one amused lioness, the result was going to be something she took delight in; especially since Apache wanted to protect whatever secret it was from her.

--Inside Mila-Rose's room--

Her room was decorated rather exotically versus the room Kou had for himself. She had random trophies of weapons and apparently those she had crushed beneath her in battle. She was perhaps a mere fraccion, but in her own right Mila-Rose was far grander than she'd let on outside of her own humble abode. She preferred to keep things to herself in that way, since neither Apache nor Sun-Sun could truly understand why she would have such decorations.

In fact to her distaste she'd already had Sun-Sun's comment annoy her and she refused to let Apache in her room. For all she knew, the wild goat would probably go around commenting or trying to steal some of her hard earned treasures. Though for a moment she did wonder what the boy thought of her room.

"So Kou, what do you think?" she asked him casually, it was a bit personal and she took pride in her decor and her room as a whole. It was one of those things that distinguished her from her fellow fraccion.

Kou looked around her room and seemed to be overcome by all he saw. She had actual furs on the floor covering it, a burning fireplace of sorts, where his was dull and of course unlight. Her room held a strange kind of gloom and yet regality...a kind of shadow throneroom of sorts. Though her room remained similar in shape to his own, the placement of her chair was out of the way and likely for guests. She had achieved a strangely cozy atmosphere, he had to admit that.

"It's beautiful Mila-Rose, honestly...I have never seen such a room home regal tones as yours does. You make this desolate room feel homey, something I have yet to accomplish with my own room yet." though of course this said as if he had a lot of time already. He'd been there merely one night and during the day now.

She laughed at his words, was he always so elegant? He spoke like he was some kind of a canary...no something bigger, she likened him to something more regal, maybe a blackbird or something. His knowledge of the language was uncanny and he had a poetic speech to him, she did like that about him; it made talking to him that much easier.

"You do have a way with words kid, I'll give you that. Thank you." she said genuinely, appreciating the honesty that he had about him. Apache hated him for one reason or another and yet there was something strange about a kid in his shoes, she still didn't understand why he gave up so easily and she wanted to know.

She led him over to her large couch/bed as it were likened to both being so wide. She sat him down and took a seat at his side while looking to him, though there was nothing romantic about it. She looked amused and both inquisitive still at once. So she decided to stop wasting time and got on with the questions.

"Well it's time to get the questions underway." she said with a light smack on his shoulder.

"Questions? What can I help you with Mila-Rose?" he made it an impersonal and polite question.

The questions then began.

"Why did you surrender? You, with the skill you possess and the tactics you appear to have could have put up lots more resistance. And don't try to BS me, I know you were holding back, so what was the reason?"

"Well to answer the first part: I was thinking about my situation and how even if I gave it my all, I would simply destroy the surrounding area and not have enough time to escape. Nor would help have arrived so quickly as Harribel-sama did, I recognize how outmatched I was."

She looked at him a moment, though nodding as she was satisfied with the answer.

"It's a real shame you think so much, but anyway...onto the second part." she ushered him to continue and he complied.

"Destruction of the city that I tried to protect, it is not something that I am trying to do. With my level of power I could have easily destroy a larger region of the city and attracted more attention; but at what cost to the people? I may be powerful, but I have a responsibility to not abuse it." his reasons for restraint were still understood, though she laughed at him.

Soon enough she stopped and just shook her head before speaking again.

"You crack me up kid, you don't want to abuse your power? I can understand thoughts of conservation or burning up large amounts in a futile effort, that I get. But abuse your power? What do you mean? I'm a little lost with that answer." she said as she leaned towards him intently, well wanting to be amused by him more. He was rather funny she found with that innocent demeanor.

"Well it's a lot to explain but let me start by saying that my power is my own, but it is not all on my own that I come

Kou broke into a brief explanation of the power that he had. From his body to his mind and spirit; he gave a minor lecture in a Zanpakuto's spirit and of course Yami-Kou who lay within. She absorbed it simple enough and was content. Now onto her gold: what Apache's secret was.

She thought about how to get it out of him without flatout threats for a minute, then it clicked that it would be easy to goad or drag it out of him by casual conversation. To her amazement it was easier than she thought to get him talking, she could sense his guard down and the fact that he felt at least somewhat casual between the moments; it was far easier than she imagined.

--Some 25 minutes later--

Kou felt calm speaking with Mila-Rose, he thought he might finally have at least someone that he could talk to who wasn't trying to hate him for reasons that he couldn't explain or counter of course, he was just wonderful what it was that was going on with Apache. In fact he'd given up most of the other information about Apache that seemed to be what Mila-Rose was looking for.

"So...what you are telling me is that Apache hates how fake your manners appear to be and even though you don't lie, she gets pissed because she finds any holding back you do needless." this was how she overall interpretted what he'd told her. It seemed like a fair understanding on the situation, thus proving she was more insightful than people wanted to give her credit for normally.

Kou nodded to her and continued.

"Not just that but she also used that as a right by which for her to exert her authority over me..." he looked away and blushed, well he didn't tell her and he stopped himself shy of doing so right there. She was a new friend, he couldn't just tell her something like that; especially being so indifferent.

Mila-Rose's grin was almost too wide, well she decided that it was time to stop playing. She wanted to know what he'd done and since he decided it not worth talking about that she'd press him in the same way: exerting her authority over the little lamb. Shaking her head lightly as he turned away his head, he was so timid that it made him vulnerable. It made him more of a victim before her eyes.

"Oh come on Kou, you can speak up. Don't hide the juicy tidbits from me." she said putting a hand on his shoulder lightly, though her fingers lightly was rubbing down the length of his arm. She knew that he'd feel safer and thusly, her taking him down would be twice as easy.

Kou had shaken his head gently, flushing even more at the fact. The thought of it still made him red in the face, he thought that Mila-Rose was being very comforting but he could not tell her, not yet of such indeceny.

"I-I must decline...I am sorry Mila-Rose, I cannot say what happened. I-It is very difficult to explain." though as soon as he spoke the words, he knew that it was too late when he felt her hand grip his shoulder. He'd let too much of his guard down!

Within moments the taller and stronger Mila-Rose had him on his back with her in his lap. It was deja vu for him, as though he'd missed the clue to never let your guard down. This was unlike Apache however...no in fact he felt more worried than he was before. What was it about Mila-Rose that made her more terrifying? It was her aura and what he sensed of her. She was a predator, no...she was _the_ predator and he was foolish enough to walk right into her den.

She gave a loud laugh, it could not have been more amused by his flushed face and his squirming. Did he think she was going to let him get away? She ran her fingers through his hair and gripped his chin, holding his face straight while she looked into those quivering eyes. Well he was smarter than he looked, to be afraid of her like this.

"Now then what was that you said..? You must decline?" her tone hinting on menacing, though she was on the brink of more laughter. He was too meek for someone with his level of strength.

He looked up at her and tried to move, though he found that it wasn't really smart. All he did was rub their bodies together and make it worse for himself. Kou felt her hands gripping his wrists and holding them at either side of his body, held up above his head with a playfully firm grip. His elevated breathing didn't help, he was panting as he grew more desperate to escape her; he was also unknowingly exciting her more. It seemed true that prey didn't consider the actions taken as a means to excite the one predating them.

While not in the same context here, he was exciting her and bringing out more of her natural instinct through his motions taken. Every squirm, each breath, each moment that he showed his fear of her; caused only more excitement. She took a nice deep inhale of his scent of fear, it was highly exotic...the scent of weakness and merit of vulnerability enticing her to do something more. She was going to follow that instinct with a much needed desire: indulge in that feeling of nature.

(--Warning: Mature content ahead, to avoid skip to next ")"--)

Mila-Rose decided to make this slow for her victim, since she was enjoying his weakness so much. Why would he give into despair? She didn't question any reason why, but she was putting two and two together: If he gave up so easily it was because Apache had done something like this? There was a way to test that theory...

"So my little victim, how does it feel? Is this what you couldn't tell me?" she said coyly, bringing both of his wrists together into one hand, holding them both with a firm grip.

She watched him look at her with such loose innocence, was he begging with his eyes? Or was he trying to bring her to another stage of excitement? It didn't seem to matter either way.

"W-We must not do this, I cannot again." he said while puting his chest up, trying to rise against her.

Where did all of his strength go? Even Kou hadn't known, since he gave into his own despair he defeated any real effort at the chance of giving a struggle. This was so pathetic as his mind descended into the thoughts of a victim...had she done this before? What would she do to him after? He feared something more...sinister from Mila-Rose, her grin and the way she seemed to have some kind of...sadistic glee about watching his turmoil made him think it much much worse than Apache. At least she was direct with what she had planned.

In truth she wasn't totally sure what she was doing, only that his squirming brought a fine heat to her innerthighs. Something that she found herself liking, as she'd never wasted time with her other victims prior to such a thing. She killed them and took their weapons or furs as her trophies, but he was not the same kind of victim. No he was just meek and how to equate that when he was a warrior of great caliber in fighting? She did not waste her time. Instead she grinded her hips into his more and enjoyed the warmth.

"Mmph...stop that...Mila-Rose you musn't, it's indecent!" he said as he exasperrated it, his words half caught in his throat when she pressed down on him hard.

She watched him and pressed down again and got a grunt out of him, her actions not going unnoticed by her own body. She felt a heat building within her center...right at her stomach, though a little higher. He was exciting her and the fear and alarm in his voice made her want to do more of this.

"Indecent? Kousou Yuushin...you have a lot to learn about what we hollow find indecent." she said as he grabbed his hair and tugged on his hair, she loved touching it really. It was so silken to run her fingers through, she needed nothing else better to distract her while she had started grinding in his lap good and hard. She felt that heat building and wanted to push it to the edge, how long could she resist letting her nature get the better of her?

She growled at him and bit his flesh, tasting his skin with her gnashing teeth, she let them drag up his sweet skin. She tasted the delightful mix of his fearful scent and almost berry-sweet flesh, but she didn't tear his delicate skin...instead she led her tongue to drag up the length of his flesh. Holding him steady with her right hand, she began to explore him with every other facet of her body: using her nose to take in his scent, her teeth/tongue and lips to taste his sweet skin while she nibbled on his throat, moving her hand along his well sculpted teenage body and teasing him in order to gain his gasps and shivers whenever she took access to a new part of him, though her favorite by far was the use of her hips/legs and her powerful waist.

How best to describe his attacker? He could not better describe the powerful amazon lioness whose stature was upon him in all meanings of the words. She was not giving him any space free from her body; she was purring in part of the wonderful touch that she felt from his squirming and movements. He did everything that he could think of, yet it seemed to be worthless towards escape. He had not wanted to quit since she gave him no reason to just out and stop, maybe he could slip out; though he had not been planning on it, if he could generate some reiatsu in a high enough burst it might shock or surprise her enough for him to get the hell out of this. He couldn't let it happen, not again…at least he hoped to keep it from happening.

Of course it failed, as a predator she was looking right to get a bigger reaction out of him and found that he fell into that trap easier than he had her coaxing him into talking. Mila-Rose's fangs gnashed again at his ear when she felt his body heat up suddenly; then his hips bucking into her hard at the same time as his chest and head moved up. She watched him as if he were in slow motion and reacted.

"Aa-ahh..! Well now, my little blackbird does have more moves in him than he'd like to let on." Her tone was backed by a much louder purr from her lips, no time she was burning with that need and he'd sealed his fate. He was hers.

She had countered him by drawing her head back and letting his chest and hips press into hers. The sudden firm pressure of his body against hers had defeated her will to hold back, the want was no longer there to enjoy the small-time pleasure she got from grinding their clothed bodies against each other. Quite the contrary had she decided that it was time for the main course to be enjoyed.

"W-wait! Damn it, I didn't- I mean…that wasn't supposed to work that way." He said in despair, well now he'd given into it when he felt he body grinds becoming deeper.

How long could his logical mind hold out against such a thing? It had already lost, his body was responding to her and his pants seemed to show that as much as his flushed cheeks did. His body was absolutely appalled that he had still been clothed. His member was full, pulsing within the clothing; as if a hidden beacon. His body was tense beneath her and much like one other portion of him; was tense with anticipation of something that Kou's logic had resisted bitterly; especially after Apache's forcing it upon him yesterday.

Mila slowly peeled back his kimono and tossed it aside and did the same with his hakama, the thing she enjoyed most was unveiling the rich scent of his body. It was to her very intriguing to find that he smelled more and more like…one of them as this went on. His fear seemed to bring out the scent of that inner-hollow he spoke of? No, he was still him but much more vulnerable and feeling. Perhaps Apache had a reason to not enjoy seeing the more intelligent side of the boy; it was boring compared to this!

Kou tried not to react, but his embarrassment at his body was more than evident as he crossed his legs and tried to cover up, that was the most important part to cover up and seemed to be important to him for it to happen. However as his legs tried to get a decent cross, Mila-Rose's knee kept them parted and she pressed down to force him to let his length poke straight up.

"You won't make this easy will you Kou? Why not just give up hm? You've already lost, I'd prefer being able to lose this damned clothes. So that we can go at this the way we were intended to." Her musing grin never leaving her face as she said this.

His answer was in a renewed struggle of trying to cover his member once again with his knees, but taking that as the answer; Mila-Rose shifted her hips and settled in a higher sitting position in his lap. This time trapping his length under her backside and sitting on it so that it's throbbing flesh pressed right up to her sacred purse, which was separated only through a thin pantie-line cloth. This mounted the excitement for her further and caused her to shiver heatedly.

From this stance, she used both of her knees to trap his legs again, holding them firmly beneath her while she held his squirming wrists still with a suddenly iron-clad grip; he'd soon learn she had no intention of letting him quit when they were this far.

"You don't really have a choice in this, either you enjoy it; which I know your gonna anyway or be a pouty brat. But if I were you, I'd hold on…whether I get my dress off or not won't stop the inevitable Kousou Yuushin." She said it firmly, a statement and tonality that spoke of this as an absolute; it was not up for debate.

His wrists gave under the pressure and the pain made him stop, she used her free hand to remove her top and tossed the corset-styled brassiere to the side. Bringing both of his hands to her hips…she made him hold onto her while she rocked a little more, in order to make him more antsy about her inevitable claiming of his body. She'd show him that once more he failed miserably to protect what he might consider chastity; so this was Apache had enjoyed? She was damn sure it was.

Her body slid down against him as she nibbled along the base of lips, my...did they taste sweet. She could feel the suppleness of his plush lips, he was fairly well groomed it seemed; at least he took care of himself. Well he seemed to have been saving this just for her...she claimed those lips sloppily, nibbling and pressing against his mouth somewhat forcefully. Having never tried a kiss before, she made some growling and purring sounds while pressing closer to him; could this have been any more grand for her? She doubted that somewhat.

"Hmm...like wildberries, I've tasted those once...and your lips are going to be my new patch." she whispered while she started nibbling at his lips again. Occasionally taking either his bottom lip or top lip and suckling on it sweetly.

It became clear that her attentions on his lips were at least buying him two seconds, he was just about to try something more drastic; he was going to try and manifest his mask to get away while she was fixated on his lips. But...this proved to be all in waste, since her wiggling hips had brought his firm length to slide her pantie-cloth back and with guidance from her free hand; she dropped down onto him hard. Just the explosive strength was enough to steal Kou's breath away. The shincy teen turned his head before his eyes widened at the feeling of the heat; the scorching heat enveloping his length and the feeling of a barrier snapping from her impact. His heart skipped a beat once again, was this really happening? He'd not only given up his chastity but once again...claimed another of his captor's virginity. The balance of this seemed to break his mind somewhat successfully, he dropped his defenses entirely and submitted.

For a minute Mila-Rose was held back by the absolute grace of what it was she had been experiencing it. There were no words to describe the delicious pleasure that it brought, for Mila-Rose there was little knowledge of something in pain, not when she had been so excited. It seemed all of her excitement had been some kind of future preparation for this; unknowing to her it dulled the pain to something very unnoticed. After all Arrancars were naturally tougher, it wasn't like something as simple as virginity could keep her from this.

Once again, the calm would be broken but sudden action being taken by Mila-Rose. While not as violent as Apache at first as it seemed, she was still many times rougher than what Kou had thought of this situation; he'd always thought that making love (as he thought about it) might feel less ragged and physically demanding as it was with Apache and now Mila-Rose.

"Oh...yeah! Mm, why did you try to hide **_this _**from me?! You silly...nnghh...little boy!" she said as she rocked on top of him, getting into the groove of her light shifting waist. She felt it was beyond enjoyable, the rhythmic feeling of his breath, his heart beat, and better for her; the pulsing length within her heated walls felt so intense. Her senses were driving her wild and it drew her to give awkward grinding motions upon him, the way from now that seemed to appeal to her was for a lack of better terms; rocking like a wildcat on her victim.

Each twist of her hips brought a gripping clench around his member, but she had not started thrusting on him. She seemed to be drawing this out even further than Apache had; by now Apache would have been further along than she was right now. It was torturous for Kou to feel, a pleasant torture that he felt could steal his very spirit and will from him. No...no he couldn't think like that!

Kou just moaned and tried not to feel the pleasure that was racking his body, from her hips jerky motions, to the stacked feeling he felt building within his body. Mila-Rose was being rough...but only with the part of him that appeared to be giving her intense pleasure. She was building up to something more, he could almost read that much. As her motions grew more frantic, she was in love with that rocking feeling and what she felt from it.

The lioness chose to take her time in claiming him, though the rocking was driving her mad with passion, she dragged both of his wrists and put them to her waist; holding them there while she started rocking forward and backwards on his shaft. Her clenching around him never once relaxing...and instead becoming more rhythmic. The feeling of him filling her walls out delighted her, was this why Apache was gazing at him like food? Oh...if this was why, then she would not be alone now. Apache would be sharing this little morsel, Mila-Rose grinned at the thought.

Then the slow thrusts began, while she did not lose the dance within her hips, she began to raise her hips and then lower them slowly. He felt even better now..dragging at her walls as she clenched around him tighter. Did he know how good this felt? She was wanting to know that little fact, she'd have to ask him later if she remembered to. But with her mind being melted by what she was enjoying right now? She was doubting it highly.

"Oh...your gods have given you such a terrible thing..! Nnhh..! That's it...that's it...stroke...right there..!" she said as she adjusted her hips to an adjacent angle above his own before pushing down. While the action got a low growling moan from her, it seemed to be what she desired.

Her hips did not stop moving, as she kept Kousou going for at least 40 minutes, adjusting angles slowly to explore the building need for her. She noticed her little victim was getting tired, but she couldn't have that. She clenched him tighter and grinded on his base hard; this seemed to be something that she was understanding loads better with each thrust. her experience was gained and the best way to move against him seemed to be an expanding knowledge, just like a growing database it seemed to be endless. Yes...they would be doing this maybe a couple of times a day? Would she have to keep it quieter? She had already begun to make her plans as she rode him.

Kou was absolutely exhausted by this time, 40 minutes in and he had no energy reserves remaining in his body, her torturously slow pace had finally gotten to the point of her firmly pounding his lap. He knew that this would bruise...bruise lots more than Apache due to sheer length of time. As a newbie to this act, he had already gievn her his essence twice now; yet she was not satisfied. Was there a way to sate her? He hoped that third time was the charm.

As for Mila-Rose, her climax was finally coming upon her...she'd loved the heated feeling that Kou gave her twice now, she wanted it again. She desired whatever it was, she was short of just demanding it of course. Oh...there it was! She placed her hands on his chest and started grinding her hips harder into his, oh yes...she had long since forgotten that she was still wearing her battle skirt and her pantie-cloth(which was long ago ruined) which was soaked. Not that she cared, she had plenty and she found this was amusing, though it would be better without her attire next time. She wouldn't let him stop her again and if he tried, she'd have to get rough.

Though her sweet little blackbird was a nice pet whenever he wasn't whining or trying to stop people, his innocence was adorable. Her thoughts all melted together as she felt the sudden instance drawing upon her, the moment...a beam of light had engulfed her vision and she cried out, a loud warrior-yell of achievement; almost a war cry as she felt her peak hit her. It was like beautiful sunbeams cradled her very body, something that she'd never felt...a heat unlike even the one that burned in her loins when she first started the grinding against Kou. It was a magic light that she had experienced, she adored the feeling and would be seeking it out many more times in the future.

There was a moment of Kou being at her mercy, he felt her fingernails burrow into his chest and break his flesh easily, while she squeezed both his waist and his hips with her thighs. He felt lucky to have been beneath her, had it been anything like Apache's release he would have suffered more; though the truth was very simple: physically he knew Mila-Rose to be Apache's superior in strength.

After some moments of squeezing, finally Mila-Rose had collapsed upon him and let her face rest in his hair. While she gave off a soft mewl, something idle and light; her playful and lazy nature coming out as she laid upon him.

"What...an amazing feeling, how sad that such a weakling tried to hide it...heh Kou, your mine...you know that?" she said as she bit on his neck.

Well hers and Apache's at any rate. Being realistic she'd break the news to Apache the best way she knew how: rudely and directly. She was not hogging Kou's attentions or his body...she wouldn't have that.

(---End Mature content---)

For a time, Kou just fought to breathe for some time. He was over exhausted by the actions he'd been engrossed in with Mila-Rose, she had worked him to a point that at the very least left him and his will in shambles. His mind could not even gather focus on a single thought, was there some point to trying to resist the two arrancar who'd decided that he was going to be their playtoy? It seemed that idea was tossed flush out the window. Apache had forced him one night ago and then this night...all in fun by the appearance of it from Mila-Rose, she'd effortlessly held him down and explored his lips and body; too finding the same treasure that Apache had. He wanted to shed a tear, but there was no purpose...he'd already shown weakness and it had cost him his psuedo-chastity.

_**"Oi, you stupid kid! Kousou! Stop whining alright? You know you liked it! I can feel it, your body is alive for the first time in years and you are confused. But so to wouldn't any newbie be. Admit it, you enjoyed being done by a pair of hot arrancar women! Admit it!!" **_the loud echo of Yami-Kou's laughter invaded his mind and just made him sigh, Kou didn't want to think...he felt Mila's nuzzling against his neck and let it go. The thing now that he was trying to comprehend? The bond he'd felt between himself, Apache, and now...between he and Mila-Rose as well.

Out of their fun, something far more serious had come to fruition; of this he was very certain about. Yami certainly knew there was a bond created between Kou and the arrancar women who had laid claim to him, now the question was whether Kou would be able to deal with what he handed with; even if it was in force. He had a hand to deal with and would have to keep these women satisfied as nothing else would be acceptable.

His thoughts were once more broken by Mila-Rose's purr and nibble on his neck.

"Come Kou, stop thinking so much. No one has to be a genius to see what's on your mind, I can tell that your thinking about everything we just did and how it would affect our status and yours. Understand this, you are still our subordinate...but perhaps you'd have some leeway if you can get better at what we just did. Because I can promise you, I have no intentions of stopping now that I've discovered it." her words coated with her laughter and yet the realization of the moment.

He gave a meek nod, Kou could not deny or refuse his superiors; neither in strength or in his overall position. Mila-Rose nibbled on his neck again and then rubbed her hips against his briefly a moment before rising from her bed, offering him her hand. She knew he'd wonder where she was taking him, but it was simple enough since they were now sweaty and smelling like one another (much to her liking); before he left her room he'd have to be clean.

Though when he took her hand and attempted to stand, he stumbled into her and felt their bodies pressing, she grinned and rubbed his fingers lightly over.

"Guess I went too hard on you, oh well, you'll toughen up. Since you were able to walk after Apache had her fun, I am certain you'll recover just fine. But till then, come on, I'll carry you." her words both doting on him and teasing the fact that he was too weak to walk.

She carried Kousou into her bathroom and laid him in the tub, while she started the water up and went to get some bathing oils, Kou was left to his thoughts and was free to explore his own mind's devices. The two would share the bath for about an hour, before Kou left clean and feeling somewhat less achy. After the lioness saw him off to his room, she headed back to hers feeling really...really good; if what humans referred to as 'sex' was this good, then she'd be partaking of it regularly.

It went without saying that Apache had been waiting for the moment he left her room to grab him and yell at him, yet due to the fact that she had been sent off on another quelling mission; she would not be there to do indulge as she had wanted. And while Apache was off cursing her wayward comrade, Kou had returned to his room and set himself down to enjoy a cup of tea.

--Within Kou's Room--

What else could have been more clear for young Kou? He was loving the fact that he finally had some alone time, a moment to reflect if one wanted to analyze the moment. But more it was a chance for him to finally come to a sort of peace with himself, through his own experience had he become more mature; even if it was forced upon him.

As he watched the kettle boil, his thoughts were running in small circles due to one simple fact: any usual thoughts that he'd had were long since taken from him. He wasn't sure how to approach the situation, from anything that he'd been raised by, all of the morals of his own were certainly not leaving him, but he knew...that he needed to approach the situation whilst living here with caution. A caution that was beyond anything like common sense, since even his sense was curbed by living in Karakura Town and raised both loosely and rigidly to live in a society crafted by humans and occasionally of course Shinigami world as well.

The arrancar's world was one for a bigger difference, perhaps his own reasons for not sinking into despair or losing his will to continue on and explore the surroundings that he was faced with now...was due to one reason alone: Yami's constant prodding told him that he was not alone. There was no need for him to give the feeling of loss and instead, all he needed to do was focus on growing used to it. Besides the freedom...that he'd held here, something that was dropped in his lap; while dangerous was also strangely enticing. To a young man, a teen who had never once questioned the rules or his boundaries before, had suddenly both boundaries and most rules of his normal life stripped down.

A knock at his door broke him away from his thoughts once again, indeed...he did think a lot. Perhaps Mila-Rose was at least right about that, he did think a lot and rarely chose to stop to consider much. He rose and moved to the door to answer it, though he'd felt he had been in his thoughts for much longer; the kettle was still on just getting warm, this meant he was only there for minutes as opposed to longer.

"Yes? Who is it?" He asked politely, the conditioned response of course was met with a surprise: an equated response.

"Kousou Yuushin, I have come to speak with you." the voice belonging to the most reclusive of the fraccion, Sun-Sun.

He stepped back and gestured in with one hand sweeping past his body, offering her free passage into his room.

"Won't you come in? I am about to have tea, would you like some?" within general standards it was only polite to invite someone to share in what one would be having soon.

Sun-Sun entered his room due to the gracious invite and such manners were nothing she was used to, short of her conversations occasionally with Harribel-sama. She welcomed his invite by stepping into his room and glancing around.

"Sun-Sun-sama, might I ask what you've come to speak with me about?" Kou's words were full of respect, as it were...he knew to respect the fraccion and it wasn't hard for them to have earned his respect. While he had a differing opinion of both Apache and Mila-Rose now, with Sun-Sun he found no reason not to respect her refined sort of elegance.

She almost wanted to react to his adding '-sama', she was indeed his superior, and yet she hadn't expected him to treat her with that kind of respect. She was taken aback by the kindness, the offer of tea, the invitation into his room: wasn't he at all bitter about being taken from his home? She did find it strange...but wasn't going to question that.

"That is not necessary Kousou Yuushin, you may address me simply as Sun-Sun. Though your manners are duly noted, you are better behaved than I thought you might be." Sun-Sun's slighted comment was condescending, she was testing his resolve to be so respectful.

He gave a light shoulder bow, ignoring the shot she had taken at him; this verbal sparring was something he was all too familiar with due to his mother's constant scolding. He was a master...at least when it came to dealing with vocal jabs. She would receive nothing but respect from him.

He offered for her to have a seat.

"Please, have a seat and I will prepare you some tea. I am not sure if you are familar with it, but I believe you will find it to your liking. It is quite relaxing and will give you something to enjoy while you grace my presence." there was of course nothing but truthful speech given in his every tone; of which he imagined she might be suspicious of.

And he was right, as she sat down and watched him, she was studying him with her eyes and trying to find some fault with any way that he spoke to her. A hidden nuance within his tone or something that he'd say...but he was ship-shape.

As the tea was poured and the conversation began...the testing of Kou's defenses and ability in speech would be well put to the test by the cold refined elegance of the Sun-Sun no hime.

(End Chapter)

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, this is meant to be a surprise to you all. What do I have planned? That is for you all to find out.

As you notice Mila-Rose was fast to act once she found out what it was, but what of Sun-Sun? What are her plans for visiting him, will Kousou just end up in the same predicament? Stay tuned!

Till then I bid you adieu!

-Quentix


	5. Chapter: Charm of a Snake Princess

A/N: As many readers might notice I am updating this one most frequent, it is out of excitement of the plot I suppose. I still shall be writing my other fictions, but until the flame for this fiction slows down some I must keep stoking it.

Well onward with the plot, we continue just where this tale will be going, down the path of complication. How is it that a teenage shincy supposed to deal with all of this right? Well there is no one answer, the only point being that now it will be seen just how he responds to such a thing and whether or not he can own up to all of the difficulty that he is being pressed under will be put to the test in this next chapter.

Now without further adieu, the fiction begins.

(End A/N)

--

Chapter: The charm of the Snake Princess

As her and Kousou's conversation continued, she persisted in finding him remotely surprising in his responses to her as he never once betrayed any feelings of negativity or even annoyance during her slighting of him and even humanity, instead he offered her an alternative perspective on the situation and on her comments. She was fairly impressed with the boy's intelligence, so young and yet such a gifted mind.

"You persist in amazing me Kousou, your knowledge of things: from situation to the hypothetical is surprisingly comparable to my own. I did not expect someone of your youthful age to retain so much knowledge." She said with a smile, it was a compliment and to which she had also taken a sip of the strange liquid; what Kousou had called 'Tea' was quite good.

It was enough to be said that Kou was enjoying his time with Sun-Sun, here finally he was not being assaulted and had over this past over to recover some more energy. Physically he still ached, but it wasn't as bad as it had been earlier. The bathing had helped ease the muscles and now the tea was being used to calm relieve his nerves and this left him feeling much better than earlier.

As he and Sun-Sun talked, he picked up no ulterior motives from the fraccion, he found Sun-Sun held no interest in anything other than his speech. He had been finally able to rest easily and not on guard…as it seemed he had now an inescapable burden in the shape of two other fraccion who now seemed to love one thing about him: his body and the pleasure he could give them. He had been unwillingly claimed by both Apache and now Mila Rose, though as he spoke…he was at least able to let it not worry him too much.

Just free to enjoy the tea and her company, how much better could it better right? He wasn't really sure if it could right now, well maybe except knitting some spiritual threads into more solid reishi tiamat floor panels. This was what seemed to be most on his mind and was just something that he was seeking to do in free time. Though in the instance of another new question that had come up broke his thoughts; he would need his mind to think and consider his response to the moment before him.

"So Kousou, I would like you to tell me how it is…living as what you are and yet still going on with this happy disposition. I would like to know how you manage when considering you are three things at once: you are a Quincy, you are a Shinigami, and you are a variation of a hollow. You share qualities with us and also do not." Sun-Sun's genuine interest about how he retained a sense of self had thrown him off and that was something she noticed.

It was a moment that she took as something to keep in mind, whenever he was thrown off guard, at least for a moment all of his guard goes down and he becomes vulnerable. It was a vulnerability that any predator noticed in their prey and it was something of interest in her eye. It seemed that even someone as well guarded as Kousou seemed to also have moments where even he was not ready to stop and deal with something that he was approached.

Kou cleared his throat as he started settling on not just words, but also some examples he might be able to use to explain how he managed to continue. Then it clicked on his mind! The relationship between Sun-Sun, Mila-Rose, and Apache was one of one such ways that he had going in mind.

"Well that is a good question to ask Sun-Sun, but the answer itself is actually much simpler than you might think it to be. The way in which I manage to hold myself together is in a similar way that yourself, Apache, and Mila-Rose are all able to work together. It is through at least a common understanding down at the root that lets me conduct the way things work out smoothly: I have an understanding with my inner-hollow. I did not subjugate him as many other Vizards, as we have been labeled by others, are known to do. I did defeat him yes, but I also spent time getting to know the inner-hollow and discussing the way that things are done. My Zanpakuto, as the source of my Shinigami powers have most certainly gotten through to me and as my partner; I respect her and she allows me use of the power within. A fellowship of sorts you might say." He gave her a rough breakdown of the full situation that just happened to be going on.

It was like some kind of a discussion panel the way he ran things within his heart and to that same extent it was that which allowed him to constitute his great restraint and exercise in control over his powers. Yet it was more of an understanding under the guise of some kind of control, however if shaken then even his powers would be disrupted. That was something that he knew and now he also knew that she was aware of that same fact.

This came of course when Sun-Sun had given off a calm nod, there was no surprise and she did not seem to question the matter. And while some of that came from the fact that she was so refined in her nature, he could see that just like her fellow fraccion: they had something in common on the grounds of predation of the weak. Even if Sun-Sun herself chose not to act, he very well knew that the fact remained that she **could** if she ever chose to.

As they continued their conversation within the safety of Kou's room, a not-so-happy meeting was soon taking place just outside in the hall where each fraccion's rooms lead towards the main hall of Harribel's Palace.

--Outside of Kousou's Room—

Apache spotted Mila-Rose stretching out idly, her scent having changed completely from what she'd always known it to be; that of an obnoxious feline who enjoyed her times lazing around their hall normally to something that smelled mighty familiar. How did she start to smell like Kou, even slightly?

Mila-Rose gave her a toothy grin, raising her arms up and stretching out. It had been some time since she'd been worked out in that way, she hadn't twisted her entire body in that many different directions ever before; but she found that the mood was suited well and she was looking up to a little conflict. As she knew Apache was going to take it personal and blow her top, she'd find when to let her know that any claims on Kou for herself were now disputable; since she herself now held a stake in the boy's being as well.

"You have about three seconds to explain to me why the hell you smell like Kou! If you don't talk, I'll rip your hair out of your skull!" the blue haired arrancar's rage was being felt from the mood and yet, Mila-Rose could have cared less.

Instead she gave an idle gesture of nudging her back with her palm.

"Oi. Don't stand so close to me, at any rate the answer to your question is simple…your little secret is not yours alone. I got to discover Kou for myself and he does have a fine little talent, even if you do have to force it out of him some. It's totally worth it from all of the pleasure that I took." As soon as Mila-Rose's words were finished, her head was already being tossed back by the first punch Apache threw.

It was pretty easy for Apache's anger to be seen and yet Mila-Rose's unmoving form made it clear, she was waiting for this! Mila-Rose grabbed Apache's forearm and removed her fist from her face while looking her in the eyes with a wide grin.

"That's all you had to do, we'll settle our despute shortly. Understand this only; you have no monopoly on Kousou. The boy is mine as well and sharing him is something I don't mind." Mila's comment was something that pissed Apache off more. As she expected, she was goading her into understanding that there was no choice in the matter.

Apache's reiatsu nearly doubled as she swept another punch aimed for Mila-Rose's face, though this time she swept down and kneed Apache in the ribs, shooting her into the side of the wall. Though Apache spent no less than three seconds against the wall and threw herself back at her fellow fraccion, aiming for nothing less than trying to show her dominance!

All of it came to an abrupt stop, as the door to Kousou's room opened up and Sun-Sun was slowly walking out, this broke the battle and brought both fraccion to a halt; had the high and mighty Sun-Sun got in on this too?

"You! What the hell were you doing in Kou's room! Speak up Dammit!" Apache was already fuming at Mila-Rose for that fact that she couldn't stop her, but of course this did not weigh in well, that yet another had been trying to get the _same_ thing that she had from Kou.

Sun-Sun casually looked in her direction and gave one answer befitting her grace.

"As if someone as vulgar as you could understand since it appears conversation is lost on the likes of you." Sun-Sun made it clear that she knew that Apache couldn't.

No sooner had she said this did Apache attack, though unlike Mila-Rose, it was a simple matter for her to completely avoid her. She had side stepped her and tripped her while moving off to the side. Apache's head broke away the wall as she tripped into it.

"You Bitch! Your dead!" she yelled as she turned and had prepared to dive at her again.

Though all came to a stop as the main doors opened and Harribel passed through the main opening. The sight of her fraccion bickering was nothing new and she knew her presence would stop the combat. Surely enough it did just that and Apache glared at Sun-Sun, but did not persist in attacking as she wished to.

There was an odd silence as common as usual, she was curious as to what had caused this scuffle, so she'd taken the moment to find out.

"So ladies, what is the scuffle about today?" A calm question that she expected answered, there was no demand of course but she was answered swiftly anyway. She looked to Apache to see the reasons why she had punched a hole in the wall or whatever had happened.

"Well Harribel-sama…I was arguing with Mila-Rose about who would…train Kousou and then Sun-Sun came from his room, I imagine she was in there training or something. I got angry when she didn't answer me." Apache told the truth, that was the case.

Training Kousou? What had her fraccion suddenly be interested in that? Especially since she'd noted Apache's resentment of Kou's presence and yet she noticed a big difference in Apache's expression; she had been far calmer and almost embarrassed, not common for her at all.

"Sun-Sun, if you don't mind my asking, were you training with Kousou?" though she hadn't sensed any rise in reiatsu, asking the matter was out of curiosity once again.

"I was discussing things with Kousou about his past, he was telling me about his past and sharing some delightful beverage that he explained to me was tea. It is something from the human world that he had requested from Gin-sama and had received today. He was polite enough to share some with me as we talked." Sun-Sun's response was flawless in execution as it was expected to be.

To that Harribel gave her a nod and then looked to Apache and Mila-Rose.

"Well ladies, you can all train him if you wish, remember that he is our guest and you are not to bruise him too badly. He is to still do missions and persist in regular activities around Las Noches, so do nothing too serious to him when you have your time with him. And just work something out for a schedule, if it comes to blows then your hall will be reduced to rubble easily…so please work it out." She again spoke calmly.

"Yes, Harribel-sama." Apache and Mila-Rose answered at once, Sun-Sun had bowed her head lightly in respect.

Harribel had some thinking to do, well considering the shincy boy with a hollow inside of him had such a profound effect on her fraccion, he had caused an uproar of sorts upon the little unit. She would have to chat with him later, obviously something about the boy's casual habits led her fraccion to fight over time with him…it made her laugh. Surely they hadn't come to get a crush on him had them?

If only she'd known to what extent they had become attached to the boy. It was his vulnerability that drew them in, it led the dominant ladies to have a field-day with taking advantage of him.

Sun-Sun didn't know to what extent the two of them were obsessing over Kousou, but at the very least he was nice to talk to. To think there was someone with an amount of intelligence comparable to her own, well perhaps not that far…but she could talk to him. That made her grin, these other two were so simple-minded and their interest was probably in fighting him.

Well she'd be returning for tea sometime soon, since it was surely sweet enough to. Plus he was pleasant and jovial whenever he wasn't being pressed with questions that made him vulnerable.

It was something to take note of and to keep in mind while she evaluated Kou for herself, perhaps to her own devices at some point. But there was no need to react to anything short of what was necessary now was that she got back to her duties and that would be that some she paid more focus to.

Sun-Sun left for her room shortly following this, leaving to her own devices, this left Harribel in the company of her 3 remaining fraccion. She looked to Kou and then to Apache and Mila-Rose, what was so worth fighting over? For the moment her observations were best left to her talents of observation; she'd find out in time she figured. As since his power was nothing spectacular, perhaps it was his skill? He was noted to be uniquely skilled with his powers and despite being a hybrid, his reiatsu was what held him back; he'd need to become far stronger in order to stand a chance against her fraccion truly. If only she knew how right she was.

Soon the three of them were alone and the conflict was free to ensue, in a much less physical manner than it had been earlier. Apache of course had more than her two cents to put in as she chose to lay her claim on the line first.

"Look Mila-Rose, I'll say it once to you, Kou is mine so back off." Her glare cast the evil eye onto her fellow fraccion; she should know not to mess with what was hers.

Mila's fingers strummed through her hair as she stepped to oneside, curling her fingers around in the tresses of her curled locks, laughing outright at Apache's claim…foolish deer.

"If he was yours, then you've done a shitty job keeping him that way. I know why you tried to hide him from me and what you tried to hide…consider it a worthless attempt, I found him evenly tasty and I have no mind about seeking him out for it again. You heard Harribel-sama Apache; you'd better just work it out. I will not be leaving that kid alone at all, especially not for your sake." Her feline smirk made it clear that she'd be true to her word; leaving Kou alone was no option.

Apache glared coldly at her and had already began hardening her reiatsu around her fist, preparing to use Bala on Mila, though…she slowly got a hold of herself; she couldn't disappoint Harribel-sama after just being warned. She hadn't wanted it to be the time in such a long while that she'd be punished.

After taking a moment to breathe and to get it out of her system, Apache was able to look at Mila-Rose and not want to rip her skull from her head.

"Fine, you can be with him maybe twice a week if you're lucky, I've decided that you aren't going to have more than that with him." Apache said whatever she could think of quick enough, she wanted to have this settled so that she might leave it alone and take her time with him.

Mila-Rose walked straight past her and stopped once at her ear while she spoke up to make it very clear what her plans were to be in that area, all hers to make clear in a single sentence.

"I will start with two and make it fit with anything that I have in mind…that clear?" she said without a moment of waiting after finishing her words.

Apache let it go, she'd have to take more time with Kou was all, to make it clear who he'd be subordinate to in the long run; it suddenly wouldn't be Mila; that would be the day.

So this left the two of them to go their separate ways, to each their own room. For the moment Kou was alone and free to be relieved for the time being, it was of course just going to be a little time now to see if it remained this way. His future was looking mighty grim as the two arrancar had kept their plans to enjoy themselves going strong; it seemed that there would be no further peace and any free minute would be grabbed up for this...lest something in an effort changed that. Kou's life was soon to be torture it seemed.

With this the night ended without any further incident, as Kou's true introduction to Hueco Mundo would become clear via Aizen's qualification test, he would see how powerful the youth was and any potential by having him face off with a foe well beyond any strengths that this half-breed Shinigami had...he would see whether he was worth investing interest into.

---The Next Day---

Within Aizen's main hall as he sat upon his throne looking amused, he decided it was time to summon the young shincy to his side room, used for exhibition of forms, rather than formal practice. Today he'd outfitted it with a potent barrier that would contain the efforts of his little show today, for his and the top 4 Espada: a showing of young Kousou Yuushin's skills.

He'd sent word to Harribel's palace for the Espada to bring all of her fraccion, but for Kou to have been battle ready within the hour. It seemed to be just the case as he trained and warmed up every morning; Harribel had no question as to the fact Kou was ready and didn't have to be warmed up. Now the tres Espada was mildly worried about her newest fraccion, with the thought in mind that he'd be putting everything he had to work in his arsenal. As he walked in front of the other fraccion and at Harribel's back, she let off a few words of caution to him; having known that Aizen and his fellow shinigami were easily deadlier than the Espada, even without having been clued in to that fact.

"Kousou, I speak words of caution to you...as holding back will not be something permitted, if I were to give you any advice, I would suggest that you put forth your greatest effort and use your reasoning on how much power you expend. This is a showing of your skills, Aizen-sama will be rating your levels of strength, so I suggest you show every facet you have well." she would rather him not be too badly hurt.

Kou gave Harribel a full nod as he answered.

"Thank you, Harribel-sama I will take care." he was worried as to who his opponent would be, though he kept himself calm. He needed to relax his powers and his nerves to keep them from churning up too badly.

As Harribel passed through the opened double doors, Kou's eyes fell upon the huge...nearly endless room. He noticed this was a commonality with the building structure itself. He felt all of the pressure in the room from so many powerful beings gathered, each one stronger than him...as it appeared no fraccion were allowed in; none but him that being.

He watched Harribel disappear from view, making use of sonido to move to her spot at the long table beside the throne where Aizen sat. That much made sense, such a man of his ego would never sit anywhere less. Suddenly Kou snapped to attention as Aizen's voice reached his ears.

"Welcome Kousou-kun, I wish to welcome you to this little gathering in your honor. Today I'd like to see what skills that you possess, so you will be put to the test by a special opponent I have decided is suited to your power." Aizen's smug smile never leaving his face, with still ever present manners; even though they weren't necessary with a captive.

"Aizen-sama, I am truly honored." he said before bowing his shoulder in his direction, truly this man knew no all-time low...Kou's mind was slightly more belligerent and he found himself having to bite his tongue to keep from saying something rude. He let off a subtle breath and cleared his mind to calm his nerves.

Aizen gestured for Kou to rise and the shincy did so, before Aizen's hand swept to the side, gesturing to Kou's opponent.

"Here is your opponent, Gin if you please to give Kousou-kun your best. Be sure not to kill him as replacing him is nothing simple." he made that much known, Gin was not to kill him.

Gin only remained grinning and stepped forward while looking in Kousou's direction as he answered Aizen.

"Of course not Aizen-sama, I wouldn't dream of killing a one-of-a-kind kid like him. I'll hold back enough so as not to go too far." Gin's reiatsu ignited around him in a brilliant shade of light purple, he was preparing for the first move.

Kou fell into ready position and with a mere nod from Aizen, Kousou barely managed a defense on the first upward slash; which even though blocked had sent him flying back into the air while giving effortless chase. Gin continued to keep the pressure on Kou, deciding that there was nothing better than having a little fun with the kid. Keeping him on the defense was his initial thought. Though he found the kid had a different plan in mind.

"Bakudo#39: Enkosen(Arc Shield)!" in front of Gin's next slash was a shield of Kido, that he effortlessly shattered, while the shards appeared to become a thin rope of a kind; hearing the boy's voice again as he spoke the spell "Bakudo#4: Hainawa(Crawling Rope)!", immediately wrapping around Gin while he simply grinned; he recognized it as the crawling rope. The boy was gone via the use of Shunpo, it seemed he was pretty good at Kido.

Kou held his zanpakuto before him and made the next move his own, he needed to get some power behind his attacks, so he chose to release his zanpakuto.

"Slash with the four winds, Kazashiryuu!" the release of the zanpakuto was met with some minor reaction from even Aizen; the pressure was impressive...considering the fact that the boy paled in comparison to any of them.

Kou's reiatsu held a powerful navy blue tone to it and even seemed to affect the release of his pressure as he had naturally began to gather up the void wind around the edge of the blade, before extending it to the full length of it; it came just in time as he blocked another of Gin's slashes.

"Aren't you a tricky little fella?" Gin said in amusement, before putting more pressure on the blade; even against the winding winds Gin was able to push Kou back in his tracks; forcing the shincy to focus harder on keeping his ground against the ex-Captain.

Gin shoved him back with a light swing and came down on him with an overhead slash, meeting youth halfway in the swing he'd used. Kou's reiatsu was drastically elevating as he attempted to at least even out against Gin, but facing up to the facts he knew he wasn't as strong. He'd need to try something else and that matter fell to his powers and a need to use kido on a mixed front of attacks.

He fell back with Gin's next push and held his hand up as he let himself fall back down.

"Hado#31 Shakkaho(Shot of Red Fire)!" the mid-sized orb was maybe about as big as a basketball or something larger, seeming to be pretty well charged for a non-chanted spell. To which the knockback from firing it sent him flying downward faster, while he quickly chanted another spell under his breath.

Gin chopped the red fire kido in half with ease and gave chase, his grin remaining ever as wide as it had been moments ago. Unknowing that Kou had something much bigger planned to assault him with.

_"__Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!" _as Kousou finished the chanting he was glad to see the great burst of yellow kido hadn't exploded on him or dispersed, he seemed to be having some great luck he noticed. The swirling energy was immediately released when Gin was right upon him.

"Hado#63: Raikoho(Thunder Roar Cannon)!" bracing his hand with his other hand and zanpakuto, he released the powerful spell and hoped that he wasn't ready for it; he'd nearly springed it on him point blank.

To Kou's credit, Gin wasn't ready for it and did take the blast at point blank(considering Gin was giving chase and quickly), soon the ex-Captain was covered in a veil of smoke, a vast plume of swirling smoke that had definitely looked like Kou was effective. To the Shincy's surprise, Gin had yet to emerge from the smoke and after hitting the ground with his back; one thing rested in his mind...get stronger and fast.

Aizen looked to his Espada for their reactions, though it was just to guage whether any of them held any interest, this too was a part of his experiment: how his Espada reacted to Kousou's presence would be key in testing who would be capable of sparring with Kousou. The whole point being not to kill the shincy while doing so. While this child was not very powerful, it was his lineage that made him stand out amongst those other shinigami born naturally and who were introduced into the matters between hollow and shinigami.

Starrk watched with some minor interest in the mood, the kid appeared to be skilled with his shinigami powers, but other than that it was pretty one-sided and he wondered why Aizen was having them watch this? Gin appeared to be having a fun time otherwise, the way he appeared from the plumes of smoke and assaulted the boy again, just what did this have to do with he and the rest of the Espada exactly? Though his question would too soon be answered.

As Gin shoved Kou back into the ground and used his Shikai on the boy, all was revealed finally.

"Shoot to death, Shinsou." a relaxed release sent the zanpakuto into the ground where he knew the shincy was, his blade had hit something solid, but hadn't pierced anything as he'd noticed.

The reason that he hadn't pierced the boy was due to one clear reason; Kou had recovered from the move faster than was thought and was blocking the shikai directly for a moment; his hollow mask was clearly on and his reiatsu had jumped to almost double of what it had been moments ago. He was now easily stronger than any shinigami vice-captain, even though he wasn't at a captain level reiatsu he had improved his situation.

Kou's eyes were focused on Gin, as he shoved the shikai off to his side, he made use of shunpo and appeared to the side of his far stronger opponent and unleashed a set of three arrows aimed at Gin's side; narrowly avoiding the extended blade of Gin's zanpakuto with shunpo once more and staying further back. He held his zanpakuto in hand still, while holding the navy blue bow in hand; the obvious darkness was due to his reiatsu being well mixed into the formation of the bow.

As Kou expected, Gin had batted the weak reishi arrows away without much effort. He'd see if he could do any better with this...

Gin resized Shinsou and looked at Kou with a grin, "That's not all you've got is it boy?" he looked for him to make a move, this was getting fun at least now.

"Just a few...let's see how it goes." he said as he drew back the bow's reishi draw string and drew together swirls of a light golden aura which began to form into something of a thicker arrow.

At least Espada each looked on with some minor interest, one did not care, and the other simply made note of the ability.

Starrk was one of those who had been shocked by the fact, this boy couldn't just feel like them, but he could use cero as well? It wasn't every day that you saw some strange kid who wasn't a hollow using cero...so he watched intently to see just what this 'Kousou' could do with his cero.

Harribel watched her fraccion's skill at the forming of cero, it seemed to be well controlled and the arrow was growing in sculpted thickness with its form; the arrow taking on a far more condensed look, she could sense the power radiating from this charge of his; it was certainly impressive to see.

"Nothing this little boy can do matters to me, even should his powers mimic our own, he is not a true hollow; he and his power are merely beneath my feet." he said with a snort, the Segunda Espada could have cared less. Though the boy was at least entertaining with his struggle against someone much stronger.

Ulquiorra merely kept track of the boy's skills and apparently use of Cero was now on that record. Lest the boy became a threat to Aizen-sama's plans, there was no need to worry about someone so weak. His skills were sharply trained for someone of his level, but were of little consequence until that came up into a threat.

As Kou finished charging the arrow within only a few moments of forming it; he spoke the attack.

"Espiral Tiro Cero(Spiral Shot Cero)!" releasing the arrow sent a violent dark golden flash with a spiraling head of energy angled at Gin, moving at great speeds the power of the cero was something of a visual spectacle, though something else duly noted was the sudden use of shunpo following it; it sounded different...it was familar to the ear of any of the espada.

Gin met the flash with Shinsou and grinned as he clashed with the power, as even though he could overpower it, the shot was challenging him for just a moment he found.

Appearing behind Gin at near point blank, with another arrow charged on his bow; Kou released the sudden attack on Gin without hesitation.

"Hado Arrow#33 Soukatsui(Blue Fire, Crash Down)!" releasing the reishi arrow with the blue flaring head of kido had caused the combination of attacks to explode in a violent spiral of both cero and reishi; since the kido met its mark and both Gin and Kou were hit by the swirling blast; Kou appeared moments from the blast with his attire ragged up and his form covered in minor wounds since he managed to escape being totally engulfed. He'd once again managed to surprise Gin, who was still not taking this seriously.

Though the resistance had come down to it, Gin's sudden appearance behind Kou marked the end; since before the hollow mask toting shincy could turn a single deep slash across his back ended the exhibition.

Kou's hitting the ground face first as a result of the slash was not surprising. Neither was his struggling to rise with his hollow mask completely shattered from the exhaustive set of back to back attacks he'd used moments ago. Gin let off a sort of sarcastic tone as he spoke, while looming over Kousou.

"My my, aren't you the skillful lad? You surprised me for a second there with your attacks, using so many different angles of attack? Such a skilled battleplan for a simple exhibition. When on earth did you think it all out?" Gin's amusement was in all of the variety of attacks, he seemed to be pretty good at all of it; though lacking the true strength to cause him serious harm was easily noticable.

Aizen gave a light clap as he leaned forward from the throne, eyeing Kou with a look of hinted interest.

"Indeed, skillful Kousou-kun...you have surpassed my expectations of your performance today. I will prepare your first training day soon after I've considered what I want you to work on first. So until then I want you to go back to your chambers and rest this day, thank you so much for the intriguing show." Aizen trailed a hand back through his hair, guiding some of the smoothed back hair back into place.

Dismissing the Espada moments after, Gin had raised Kousou to his feet and then left him to lean on his zanpakuto for balance. Harribel approached him from the side and put a hand on his shoulder, to get his attention.

"A very good effort Kousou, can you walk or shall I have Apache or Mila-Rose help you to your room?" obviously, words of concern for her fraccion's condition after even one slash from Gin was more than disabling she imagined.

He shook his head lightly and offered a placating smile.

"T-thank you Harribel-sama, I will be able to walk back to my room. Though I believe I will need something to help my wound." he said as he stood up, forcing himself to stand up straight.

While Harribel nodded to his wishes and gestured for him to follow, for what she imagined was the human masculinity in Kou; was actually for way of avoiding physical contact with either of those women. Both Mila-Rose and Apache made clear to him where he stood with them, in a way they'd held some kind of ownership over him; he'd been forced to perform very intimately with them both and knew he had no choice. Now Aizen was intrigued by his skill...just great he thought. How else could this become worse?

How little did Kou know about how this could be worse. As he was sent back to his room and eventually made his way down, Harribel had him rest on his stomach and sent a medic to his room. All the while the scent of his blood was in the air and had easily invited Mila-Rose to come play...had it not also been for the sharp sense of smell from Apache; his troubles were only mounting it seemed. He was suddenly coming onto everybody's radar.

As the female arrancar tended to his back wound, he shut his eyes and just relaxed since now having some time to think. What the hell was he going to do now? How could he survive this madness right..? He wasn't sure he could...no he wasn't so sure at all.

(End Chapter)

Hope it surprised you folks, this next chapter here. Not one spot of anything 'mature' though as you might note this story will be a mix of both. In the next chapter, Kou's difficulties only continue to grow more grueling as he finds out how close training and torture come to meet when under the regimin of Aizen Sosuke.

Till the next chapter, adieu

-Quentix


	6. Chapter: The Nature of Predators

A/N: Well as it is yet another chapter into Kousou's unraveling life, it only gets harder from here on in for him. If it seemed bad before, know that it will only get worse as things continue to develop. Without any further adieu, the chapter shall begin!

(End A/N)

--

Chapter V: The Nature of Predators 

As Kou slept some hours after being healed, his dreams were full of ominous imagery and things he couldn't quite place. He was simply exhausted after having been in combat with someone of Gin's strength, he used most of his reserve energy during the fight and still he was trounced with ease. The gap was greater than any effort he could put forth during the battle. While he thought about it…the imagery continued to confuse him further and further on.

The image of a great lion set before him, beside that was a large serpent's shadow, next to that had been the image of a great…whale perhaps? shark? Some kind of a big underwater dwelling creature that he couldn't identify yet; just what was all of this supposed to mean? A great doe appearing next to him and nudging his sleeping body, it was almost like an out of body experience that he couldn't really name.

He was there and yet he wasn't, clearly surrounded by these shadows that threatened to engulf him…what was it to mean? At the very end a great crow's shadow had taken him up in some talons, yanking him off of the ground and then…he shot awake.

Kou woke up with a grunt, a small bit of pain from contorting his back after having it just healed. There were no tears or markings in his flesh of the slice; it was a fairly clean job of healing him. Though he still didn't understand, what did all of that mean to him? He couldn't quite place what it was overall, he shook his head and stretched out; unknowing that he was being watched.

"Finally your awake, you got the shit kicked out of you, I felt your reiatsu getting lower and lower, but you are strong for a subordinate." The words coming from the darkness nearby, as Apache walked towards him with her hands on her hips, a grin wide on her face.

There was something lurking in her vision and it became more and more obvious to him just what she was here for. There seemed to be something that was lingering from the past, she placed a finger on his cheek, using her hand and rolling him onto his back while she stroked through his hair.

"I didn't think it would piss me off this much not to have what's mine, but it damn well did. I want you to give me a good time today. As far as I can tell you are back with some greater strength…that's what I want to feel from you, you'd do well to give me your best tonight, since I am going to be trying something else; you will be curling your toes… maybe in pain, though it matters not as you have no say in my decisions." Apache's voice was bordering lust, something that she wasn't aware of.

Kou tried to get from beneath her, but the chance had already escaped him. His eyes looked up at the fraccion who had been the first to claim his body as hers, did he have a say in the matter? All things pointed to no, he lacked the power to do anything that wouldn't earn him a retaliatory act. He gave her a look of defiance for a moment and she just smirked and let her fingers stroke back through his long locks.

"I think the long hair suits you honestly, a good victim with something I can hold onto if I feel myself getting out of hand; just the way that I want." Her tone was dripping was sarcasm, she didn't care if he had long hair really.

Instead it seemed to prove that she enjoyed taunting him still, her little shincy victim that would give her more of this pleasure. She stripped him of his pants without much effort and led her fingers back through his hair once more and leading her lips to graze over the side of his neck. What was it about him that tasted so sweet? She couldn't put it into words really, just what made him the worth victim for her to embrace and to have. Her great bird that was her own to devour, it amazed her how tame he was after the first time she'd had him.

Her fingers parted his kimono and raked over his skin slowly, bringing a low shiver from his body. There she saw those glimmering eyes shine with something for a moment, a strange burden that he was bearing. For a moment she almost wanted to know what it was that he was struggling with, he was always so confusing to her in that way. She now found it almost impossible to hate her victim, he betrayed everything to her as she took him that first time; she wanted more of this purity that he contained.

Kou was deciding something else that he'd do now, it was inevitable that this act would happen, but maybe he could show her something that she didn't know was very possible. Perhaps Kou had no full understanding of it himself, though it was just a distant thought; he might help her know what it was to sample passion and not just lust…it might get her to lighten up he thought.

(--Mature content ahead--)

Apache wasted no time unlike their first time, all of his secrets were about to become hers once again. She was going to steal that which he held dearest to his heart, this was what enchanted her as a hollow was the chance to devour a part of this boy.

"There…my my, you are easily excited aren't you little shincy? I think you've even come to enjoy my attentions to your body; I suppose it's inevitable that a weakling like you would come to lust after the attentions of a female once you've tasted it." She scoffed and led her fingers up his sides, raking his flesh before she slid her left leg over his lap and sat down promptly upon his length.

Her body took to natural actions and began to grind in his lap, while her nails dug into his skin and made him shiver again, how he was so weak when he did that, could he know that it excited her? That was something that she wondered from time to time. Though there was no time to think about that, she'd wasted too much time…for now she demanded to have his hardened flesh trapped within her core once again, to feel his purity trapped by her needs once again, this was what mattered.

Her fingers now gripping the tip of his manhood and squeezing it in her hands, once more getting a soft gasp from him, before she'd squeezed harder and earned a grunt from him; he was so weak that it was pathetic and she loved that about the weakling. It was almost addicting to know that she had this kind of power over him and that he could not deny her.

"You are so weak Kousou Yuushin, I can't believe that you thought you had a right even to speak resistance. If I am alone too much for you, then you never had a hope to stand against me from the start. You should learn your place, mm…though that's enough preaching." She said as she felt his length finally thickening to her attentions. It was about time.

Apache didn't bother undressing; instead she decided that it was time for him to understand what 'surprise' she had in mind to show him. Slowly her zanpakuto was revealed to him as she sat on top of his half-erect member and grinded it beneath her as she drew her chakram-like zanpakuto and held them to his neck a moment while she held him still trapped beneath her legs.

"Learn the name of my Zanpakuto well, for you will be hearing of it again and again as time goes on." Her words were hinting at this becoming more violent.

Her teasing of his body did not end short of her, before she finally made the move she'd been waiting to do. The subtle release of her zanpakuto…she was timing it in succession with her forcing Kousou into her heat, in the past it had caused his reiatsu to spike, she'd ensure he did again.

As she straightened out his member onec more time with her hand, she brought his shaft to her lips and bit her bottom lip, did it always have to feel so good? She made a few sounds that seemed to be close to murmurs or moans; now she was very close to fulfilling her need.

"Thrust…" she spoke the command for the release of her zanpakuto as she thrusted onto Kou's member suddenly, this getting an immediate cry from her as she spoke the words of her zanpakuto.

"Cierva~!" which was half cried and half yelled as she gave way to her transformation, it was very sudden over her, as her body grew its fur, horns rising from the top of her crown and temples as she hilted him within her.

Was this what she had in mind? Kou felt the immediate pressures of her reiatsu burning around him, to that same moment he had no choice but to react; his body shimmering in the golden and navy aura as his dual reiatsu's presence picked up around him. The rise in his reiatsu was entwined with Apache's though as noted, it was not in anger or rage that this seemed to be the response. After about 5 minutes of their spiking reiatsu, it seemed to quiet down as Apache rested with him sheathed inside of her walls for some moments.

There a soft sigh rising from her lips as she bit on his skin a moment, just to taste his sweet flesh again. It would be so easy to hurt him with her true power; she knew that she'd have to be careful. But if felt so good...so much energy tingling between her legs, she could feel his reiatsu crackling around every inch of his body while her walls bared down on him softly, squeezing him a moment to get a grunt out of him. This would be wonderful, oh she could already feel it.

"Yes Kou, my little shincy...that's how your supposed to do this, good boy...good boy." she moaned to him and let her claws rake over his chest and draw some blood out of his skin, she was enjoying herself wholly, to think she hadn't moved once at all yet.

There was no way to describe the kind of appeal that this strange boy had to her, what else was the attraction to such a weakling? She had not discerned that clearly, something about the boy's soul was what called to her. What about this boy, who was at least of interest, and could somehow call to her intrigue her senses so much? To be honest it didn't matter what it was about him that did this to her, it was just the fact that she had him and didn't plan on letting him free.

There was no way that she'd let such pleasures go; perhaps she could tolerate his behavior more since this part of him was the better half she found.

As Apache's thoughts continued to consume her, her body was doing the rest for the pleasure of them both. While in her released form, her fur gave Kousou an odd sensation as she dragged her walls around his member harshly and then bucked back down, in some strange way they quelled a feeling within him that picked up greatly. It was still painful to him despite the odd moments that made it feel good, he wasn't really able to put it into words. He left it at Yami-Kou's influence over him. Curse that inner-hollow for making it feel even remotely good.

Another grunt rising from her little shincy as her walls slammed down hard over him, the kind of pleasure that this boy was bringing her made her delight in the ideas of repeating this again sometime. She didn't guess that she'd be _this_ sensitive while in her released state, did he know how good he felt? Oh She'd be sure he knew, as she grabbed both of his shoulders and sat him up, curling one of her legs around his lowerback and grinding into his lap, making sure he was massaging her walls deeply.  
"Nnnhh..! You know boy, you have a way of making me feel good…that's very wise. You feel so wonderful, I think I can overlook..nnghh..your resistance of me the first night." The words passing from her lips were playful.

It was an interesting thing to say that she seemed more…responsive to general talk during such a carnal act. Kou was freely observing this as she rode and grinded on his length, she seemed not just happy and satisfied for the moment; but almost calm in a way. Her throes of passion however quickly sent Kou's mind back to the matter at hand, back to the moment and what he was feeling before: pain.

His back arched towards her forcefully, due to the grip of her powerful leg around his lower back. She gasped loudly and then hissed at him, biting into his neck and bearing down her nails into his back as she held him like a vise for a moment. There was no moment that he was free from her actions or her need. Every moment that Kou took to breathe was crucial, since every other moment was full of some kind of pain. She was just far too strong and far too rough for him to have enjoyed it for more than a moment of time.

Apache didn't really care if he was enjoying it, now that she'd found yet another position that suited her wants for the moment, she took advantage of exploiting it. She wanted to feel him buried deeper within her if it was possible; that was the ultimate goal here, to bring this boy closer to her with each action. She was desperate almost to feel his length rolling around inside of her, it was one of the things that she had first held command over in her life that was new: her pleasure given by this boy.

Then suddenly, without her permission did the moment suddenly end curb, a white light engulfing her vision as she clenched her entire body around him. A sudden grip that made Kou bear down on his teeth, he bit his tongue…hard in that moment. More than enough for him to have nearly severed the tip of it. His reiatsu rose in accordance to her climax, which forced him to release…how could he not? Against his will, her walls gripped him far too hard to not respond to. His essence shot into her without another moment's warning; it was finally over…right?

Apache had suddenly dropped his upperback and collapsed on top of him while she rested her face in his hair, sighing harshly as she greedily took air in while holding him in her body vicegrip. There was silence with the exception of Apache's panting fresh in his ear, along with other sounds of her pleased and still disappointed response to the sudden release of her body.

"Damn it...mmmnn...I guess I couldn't handle it. It felt too damned good, that's fine...for now I suppose. The first time is always the hardest to hold back, I found that out with our first night." she said this with a soft grin, he knew what her resurreccion felt like now; in a different light than what it was like to face her in combat.

(---End Mature Content---)

As she had finished with her pleasure for the time being, Apache remained for the last few moments that he remained within her until he naturally shrunk to normal. She got up and dragged him to the bath with her, knowing well that he'd need to be clean and she had hurt him more than he was really able to recover from in such a short time. It was annoying that he was so fragile, well she imagined this was what came with the territory of having power over such a weak boy; she adjusted his back for him and helped his body maintain its normal bone alignments.

"Toughen up or something Kou, I need you to be stronger than that if I'm gonna do this again, you understand? You'd better get stronger so that I can enjoy myself more." She said as the tub filled up with water, this here was a one sided conversation and yet it didn't matter to her in the slightest. As long as he heeded her at some point.

She made sure that she herself was clean and watched Kou's body and the new bruises...she had done that and it made her smirk a bit; was it something to be proud of? Certainly it was! She had in a way marked her territory, as long as it wasn't lethal and he'd be good by tomorrow then she could be sure that she'd remain pleased. After sealing away her true power, Apache left Kou in the bath and had dried herself off. Feeling refreshed she looked back one more time at the boy's form and grinned, he did have a way of making her feel much better...after her discovery she found that she was more spry after having a good time.

"I'll be seeing you Kousou, that was fun again." she said before disappearing out of the boy's room all together.

Kousou was left to his thoughts, his aches, and of course to apply his balm to his joints after the bath. He was damn sure that he'd be doing some work tomorrow and wouldn't be let off for bruises; let alone if whoever it was knew just _who _had given him said bruises. It wasn't really something that was very common or acceptable, he doubted that. Even more than now he doubted that such acts were common amongst most arrancar, that or he just had pretty terrible luck.

For the next few hours of the evening Kou was left to himself, as the boy left himself soaking for about the next half hour in the water until it started chilling; Kou then followed up with drying up and applying the balm to his bruises. How had he been so lucky to just take bruises from her rough treatment of his body? That wasn't something that he honestly understood at the moment, his body was frail in comparison to that of the arrancars, so how was it that he was moving with almost no problem now?

_**'Man you are thick aren't you Kou? Don't you get it?' **_Yami-Kou's voice sounded in his head with a soft laugh.

_'What do you mean?'_

_**'The fact remains that you are in Hueco Mundo, I reside within you and your power is mixing more and more every day right?'**_

_'Yes...so you are telling me that I am gaining more Hollow-like properties?'_

_**'Pah, more or less kid...you'll never be a Hollow obviously, but it doesn't mean you won't toughen up.'**_

_'But its been so little passage of time, no more than what...a few days to a week? I can hardly tell anymore.'_

_**'That's because passage of time in Hueco Mundo shifts to a point, its not like in the living world or even Soul Society. You'd better get used to it...you'll be here a while.'**_

_'Once again you are right, thank you Yami-kun.'_

_**'...Stupid kid, don't thank me! I'm just telling facts nothing more.'**_

Kou's thoughts were quieted afterwards, he hadn't heard from Kazashiryuu in some time, he wondered what it was? Though for right now he was just tired...very tired and not wanting to think too much. He was going to lay back down and get some sleep, that was what he wanted to do with his day. So once he'd found the oversized couch-bed that he'd been using. He got comfortable and just curled up before setting himself off to sleep, his body quickly growing heavy while darkness overcame his mind. He was asleep in no time.

As time came to pass, it was all put towards rest and Kou slept away without a worry on his mind. He was in such a deep sleep that he had not noticed the presence in his room while he slept soundly. Someone who watched his sleeping form with a hint of amusement.

_"Perhaps this is the safest for him, look at him snooze so deeply. Hold yourself together boy as your burden will only grow. Do not lose yourself, do not let go of your sense of self, keep true to your path while the burden of being in the presence of such a man as Aizen will only grow heavier."_

The figure of mystery took off out the window, soundlessly hopping into the air and heading for the sand below...how could one get in with no sound nor hint of spiritual pressure? It was the mystery that would go unsolved for the time.

--Later that evening--

As Kousou slept, he was unaware of the plans of Harribel-sama, who decided to take the training of Kousou into her hands; after having seen him beaten so badly...she felt some compassion towards his situation and would increase his skill with his hollow powers. So without more than her presence in the fraccion hall's center, did her primary fraccion gather and stand before her silently.

"Good Evening Ladies." her voice was calm and gentle, as was normal in the presence of her fraccion.

"Good Evening Harribel-sama."

"Greetings Harribel-sama."

"Good Evening Harribel-sama."

They were quick to respond to her evening greeting, though question lay in Apache's eyes, In Mila-Rose's eyes were curiosity, and for Sun-Sun it was simply respect. There was overall no verbal questioning of what brought her down. Was it something important? The reason's possibilities were ultimately endless in that regard.

"My reason for coming down this evening was simple, I have come to oversee a regular training period between my fraccion. While you are all more than capable, your newest teammate is not up to par with his strength. As I watched him today, I can say that his full power is somehing comparable to at least one of you and his skill is exceptional. But he lacks the inability of working with a team and...I would also like to see about pushing his Hollow powers to a greater level." Harribel knew Kou was sleeping, he likely knew nothing about showing up when necessary; that was just as well for now.

The three looked to one another, well did that mean they'd be showing him or would it be something of a battle royale perhaps? The questions mounted again in the small silence, but were soon answered with Harribel's following statement.

"I would like each of you to show him the technique and see just how far his Hollow powers may go, I would like to see just how far this young man can push his powers. He is the anti-thesis of each of us and yet his access to hollow powers seems not only comparable to fraccion's level, but skillfully used, we will...push the wire." Harribel decided that her interest in this was far enough, whenever he wasn't resting on free time, doing a job, being trained under Aizen-sama's tutelage, he would be training under her watchful eye and with the instruction of his fellow fraccion.

After a few moments of deliberating amongst themselves, Sun-Sun took it upon herself to go wake Kou up, he was still sleeping after all of this...what had happened to him? She knew he was fine earlier and now he was sleeping like no tomorrow, so she simply knocked on his door calmly; he had manners so she expected him to be up in moments.

And it seemed she was right to count on it since he shot up from his sleeping, using shunpo he moved himself to the door and straightened out his bed hair and his attire; it was good that he bathed before sleep. He opened the door and looked tosee Sun-Sun present.

"A Meeting of the fraccion before Harribel-sama? Oh beg my pardon! I must've been sleeping too deeply, my apologies Harribel-sama!" he said as he made himself presentable through some quick brushes and walked outside, following the silent Sun-Sun back to the other fraccion.

She shook her head at that, well it was good to see that he was quick to be ready.

"Do not worry yourself over it, this was unannounced, but be sure to feel for the change in reiatsu around you. My appearance can be important or otherwise; so keep your wits about you Kousou." Harribel's words were something of warning though more friendly advice right now.

He gave a soft shoulder power and waited for whatever was being done, well perhaps to hear something about the mission ahead? He figured it was something even if it was unannounced.

"Come Kousou, you are going to be trained right now in your hollow powers. I know that you can use them, but I would like to see them more developed...if you are to be my fraccion, then all of your skills will become more developed; I would like you to use all of your skills whenever on duty. This will ensure your chances of surviving...as unlike Karakura Town or Soul Society, Hueco Mundo is far less forgiving." again, her words cooly delivered, yet spoke volumes in an icy tone.

Kou took it as it was, a fact that Hueco Mundo was far more punishing. Things were mostly run by power and strength, two things that he lacked...neither having much physical power or strong pressure in order to defend himself successfully against anything stronger than a lieutenant of ranked in Shinigami. Anything below was a simple matter of defeating, now he'd be trained by those stronger than him, in use of his powers that he normally kept on the down-low whenever using it. His power had already begun to mature...now it was a matter of cultivating it more.

All the shincy could do was nod to his superior, without more than a few moments more to prepare, they all headed out to the desert for training under Harribel's watchful eye.

--In the desert of Hueco Mundo--

Starting with something light, Harribel had commanded Kou to watch closely, as she had the three women under her command perform Cero.

"Watch closely Kousou, as though you perform it with relative ease, there is actually an art to releasing cero. As the amount you can gather can make or break its use in a fight when you need it in a hurry. The use of cero can help you survive while delivering with it a potent blow towards an opponent. What's most important is what your mindset is when you are commanding the presence over spiritual particles; it is a domination that takes place. While you may gather reishi as I have heard that Quincy do, you must be less passive in gathering cero; you exert a domination over it and command it to form in whatever pattern that you prefer. You seem to mold it into shapes well enough so I won't bother describing that to you, but first: watch and then follow the example." Harribel's instructions were simple enough to follow and Kou did just that.

First up was Apache, nominally she was the one to become most angry and appeared to be the loudest; however within her right the use of Cero was quite natural for her. She gathered the end of a glowering red light around her horn, summoning in the surrounding light with great command in her ability; it was something well practiced.

The red cero fired from the horn without much need to wait, immediately at which the large mass of energy struck the sand and exploded violently, scattering the sand where it hit. As the shockwave of wind and force from the semi-distant blast hit them, Kou was still paying close attention as he watched in silence. Mila-Rose was up next.

As Mila-Rose took it upon herself to show the next shot, the orange mass of light began to gather over her knuckles as she looked out and imagined her target; it was always easier when one was focusing on the area where she'd fire. As Mila-Rose gathered the cero at a casual rate, to show Kou the difference she fired the blast immediately following its minimal amount necessary in order to hit the sand. Upon impact her blast of cero created a surprisingly deep impact in the desert scenery.

Last to step forward was Sun-Sun, as Kou knew her to be refined...she effortlessly held her well hidden hand and above the long sleeve did the dark pink energy gather. Almost in a refined manner did the spiritual energy gather around her focal point of cero, like soldiers coming to the aid of her princess...this was what he thought of what he saw, the cero gathered under her command and to did it release itself in a violent narrow burst. While most cero could vary between wide and narrow, Sun-Sun's appeared to have its own agenda and was in its own way dignified.

Even as it struck the blank sand with immediate results that could be seen; a very powerful shock have delivered a shallow and yet broad divide between the sand where her cero struck. The displays were clear and the manner of the types of blasts were also visible, Harribel's gaze turned back to Kou and he understood what she wished: for him to show her his cero.

Without another word, Kou's hand rose above the side of his face and drew down the formation of that ever strange golden mask he'd worn before, so many times had it been presented in such a method that kept most from knowing what it was.

The shock of pressure that came off of the boy was always a little of a shock to her, more of a thrill in truth. It was something that made Mila-Rose glad that she pushed so much onto him as it was this mystery of the mask that he wore, she knew the very basic about the mask: it increases his power tremendously, it was certainly the source of his hollow powers, but what else did it have to do with it all? His reiatsu was naturally blended and yet he had no access to his hollow powers without his mask, she found it to be rather a curious thing. Her eyes watched intently as the golden cero gathered around the edge of the boy's left hand, swirling into the center of his balled fingertips.

"Cero!" releasing the powerful burst of cero gathered up by his fingers, Kou had to of course command such. It seemed that even though it was possible to be silent, as he called the attack name; the blast became more fluid and blasted the sand apart in a wider radius.

Harribel was quiet for a moment, analyzing the way he formed the blast and to that she began to comment on it.

"As it seems you are versatile with your release of cero, that bow you used before I assume was your quincy powers and the center of it you are able to form cero; as you would an arrow. Furthermore, when not in use of the power it appears you still choose to announce the attack as a means of increasing the power within the cero itself. But you still lack command over cero as a force, even though through your focus gathering it is not that difficult for you." she seemed to find him decently adaquate in that area of making use of the power.

Kou wondered what was next and the demonstrations would continue for the next four hours. Kou had begun studying and making use of further skills that included: Bala usage, deeper cero understanding, and perhaps an experimented use with sonido. It was to see if the boy's extent of hollow-like powers were limited to only a few exclusive bits of use. To Harribel's satisfaction, he had learned to use Bala and appeared at least capable of sonido: both required a heavier focus on the hollow reiatsu that he was using for these attacks.

By which at the end of the four hours of straight practice, Kou was at this point exhaused and trying his best to appear fit for continuation. He didn't want to appear weaker than he already was in the eyes of the other fraccion, he knew that his chances of avoiding more of the said 'worse' treatment would depend upon it. Granted he'd be sleeping well tonight, it didn't mean that he wouldn't try to resist once more. He felt stronger for a change, having learned more about his hollow powers than his father had been training him in use of.

"Very good Kousou, if it is anything that you do have...is the ability to learn things quickly, though your growth rate leaves something to be desired, I will not say that I am not impressed with what you have learned thus far. You will develop both powers equally this way Kousou, your shinigami and your hollow powers will get stronger. But you must keep all of your skills at your use; this includes your Quincy powers...but only you can train that. Do what you must to see it is retained, as my fraccion I would see you battle ready in all regards." this was something big with her, all of his powers would be ready.

After being dismissed, Kou drifted back to his room, both exhausted and wary from still earlier activities that he was pressed into; it had been time now for a little tea before his evening rest; something he was very glad to indulge in as tea was always pleasant for him. A knock at his door sounded, tensing at it for a moment, Kou took a breath and released before moving to the door and opening it.

"Sun-Sun-san, welcome. Won't you join me for tea before the evening comes to a close?" his offer was polite and being offered to someone he rather liked greatly in comparison towards the other two fraccion; who regularly now visited him in the night for a lot more than just tea. His rape appeared to be a more common thing now between Apache and Mila-Rose.

Sun-Sun entered the room upon his polite request and without a word, she was offered a seat and her tea cup; all presented in a very respectful manner. All of his mannerisms were enough to sate her actually taking time to visit with and speak to him. This was something that was done regularly now for the past few weeks, again...in Hueco Mundo the passage of time seemed to be something lost and endless. In the end there almost appeared no real point to trying to follow it, all that Sun-Sun really cared about was the fact that she enjoyed his company regularly and had come to like tea more since her exposure to it.

"Sun-Sun-san, would you prefer some mint tea this evening?" Kou asked her politely, in this way he had been introducing her to different flavors and seeing which she liked and hadn't liked. However to her credit she had been tolerable and even enjoyed 80% of the selection thus far.

After the wate was steaming, Kou poured the tea...this time seemed to be a blur before his eyes. He figured that he was just more tired than he thought, he and Sun-Sun often just chatted about experiences and just how he was doing here. Kou was able to relax almost completely around her, the only thing he found himself worrying about was whether or not he could catch any trap questions she might ask him this evening.

Even while the two discussed the evening, the experience that Kou himself held towards the training, and most of all any plans that he may have had in the future; all of this was based upon something short away that was passing through Sun-Sun's mind. At first she had not been interested in anything that the other two foolish fraccion she worked with might do; what had peaked this curiosity was the fact that Kousou was at the center of it all. She found that his mind was well developed for his youthful age, though he was sadly naive when it came to trusting people. Right now the only thing that she found was a major weakness in Kou was directed at two things: his innocence all-round, and his guard being dropped when he felt he could trust someone. He was always trying to make friends...and while she at least considered him worthy of talking to, he was prey....so helpless in this regard that even latent predatorial tendencies were beginning to show.

"Well Kousou, I have decided that I will help you discover more for your training. Your mind is sharp but you lack the experience to cope with your situation. You are capable and that is a plus...you may yet make an excellent adjuctant as a fraccion, but you must learn more about hollow. Your knowledge is lacking and to your credit you admit that fault, but you must do more than admit it." her words were spoke coldly, hard and refined facts to something that Kou knew was true.

"What you speak is true...but what is it that I can do towards that Sun-Sun-san. I mean as I know in truth, I will never be a hollow...and I shall not evolve in the same way that you have; but certainly I can become more than I am. What is it that you might suggest?" Kou felt that he could trust it, he could trust in her as she was and her words; cold facts might have hurt when spoke...but they were no less true.

Why did he have to be so trusting? It was not her nature to devour the foolish, yet here this boy was openly inviting her coils to entrap him; willingly he seeked the knowledge of the elegant but deadly Snake Princess...how could she refuse? Such a trusting soul would be only more inviting, she would give him a lesson in this while teaching him the nature of a hollow.

"I suggest that you and I tomorrow discuss more facts about a hollow. You seem to have a strange notion about us Kousou, your trust is most strange...even if it is well mannered trust; you are willing to accept everything. From your status as a prisoner to becoming a fraccion, you are very malliable...but your trust, you must be careful with whom you give it." she said again, in warning against what was before him.

But Kou remarked, in a far more trusting nature. Innocence and purity...it seemed he had still not lost it.

"While you are right as always about me Sun-Sun-san, I find that my trust in those near to me are just. Even should I be taken advantage of 20...no 30 times even down the line, beings of our nature cannot survive without this trust. It is a sacred thing, no matter how much I am haunted by what I bring upon myself; maintaining a relationship with those close to me is what is important. I know that I bring it upon myself, my actions are my own to take; the path becomes whatever it will. But my beliefs and will to trust are part of what make me who I am. I feel in a strange way...I can sacrifice my person towards fulfilling these ideals, since I believe that my bonds will only aid me in the end. As long as they are positive in a light, I can hold onto them and embrace them." his words were true.

No matter what either Apache or Mila-Rose did to him, he was certain whatever bonding they were doing to him; with him present it would only latch them together. He felt strange about admitting his conviction to her, not really embarrassed as much as he was just sure that the truth in his words on some level did frighten him...He was really dedicated to it on such a level.

"I see, well then young Kousou, I will see you tomorrow after you rest and your lesson will begin." she was impressed by his willingness to persist in his beliefs. But he was moving willingly into the coils of a predator, didn't he know...that birds, no matter how big were still food for snakes?

All would be disclosed to the young shincy as Sun-Sun's plot would unfold...what was it she would day? She planned to test the limits of his mind with her lesson about the hollows. As she left, the thoughts began to toil as she realized; that this boy did hold some interest. How far was he willing to go for his ideals? That she would test.

All would be disclosed by the next day of the boy's mind would be pushed, what more did she have planned? That lay in wait.

(end chapter)

another chapter up and done, I hope that you are enjoying the story as it unfolds. I hope to throw some more curves as the story unveils itself. Enjoy what lays in wait!

Till then adieu

-Quentix


	7. Chapter: Visions of a snake princess

A/N: Back for another chapter of Bleach, here it goes as things get more complicated, very soon you will come to see just what new burden falls onto Kousou's plate. As his captivity in the hands of the scheming Aizen sends him a new kind of suffering, will he be able to bear it? Wait and see as the shincy now must endure the attentions of a Snake Princess.

(End A/N)

Chapter VI: Visions of the Snake Princess and her will

Yet another few evenings had passed without much event, Kou had felt himself still dealing with a regular visit every other night from Mila-Rose and Apache; he found that they were verily sated at their contact with him. Could they really desire more? Kou was healthy, though just narrowly avoiding a worse off situation. He managed to get enough sleep and not to take as many bruises from their romps with him. But nothing he could say or do would deter the deer girl or lioness that had a vested interest in him.

What had once been a secret was something more of a whispered knowledge, though Sun-Sun didn't directly know what went on during their visits; it was the fact that Kou remained smelling like Mila-Rose or Apache depending on which evening it was that gave it away. He bathed regularly, once a day from sheer difficulty during training or missions; at which in between these times he would be visited by one of the mad fraccion who looked to either take anger or just have him for the regular times. Sun-Sun kept track of their habits and had worked it out like a schedule.

For Apache, it was eat breakfast and training, do a mission or more practice, then wait until Kousou was free. She was always agitated whenever he worked late doing his fraccion duties or was being trained by Gin or Tousen in drills for Shinigami; the boy was the object of Apache's domination…she noted that Apache would often bang on his door and then shove him back inside or grab his neck and force him back inside his own room. Then after usually anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour would be spent in there, she would emerge almost…placid. Apache's high tended to last as much as a day or a day and a half; while she wasn't 'happy' persay she was approachable which was not really common.

For Mila-Rose it wasn't nearly that simple, as the lioness would often find amusement in random things after waking and eating. As much of a vicious combatant that Mila-Rose was, she would very regularly laze around and just find things to amuse herself. Bothering Kou was a part of it, she'd whisper something in his ear and make him blush or prod him and make a gesture; often getting all shades of red out of the shincy's face whenever he looked in her direction. When she was not doing that she was training on her own or sleeping, as the annoying lioness called it 'cat-napping'; had she been any lazier Sun-Sun would not be surprised. Then of course a short waiting period, not to the extent of Apache's drolling on and complaining. As soon as Kou returned from his mission, Mila-Rose coaxed him into his room, in whatever fashion she chose to do so it was a masterful way. Typically what started off as chat or dialogue often ended with Kou blushing and taking her into his chambers. While Mila-Rose was lazy, within the chambers this was not the case; as to this alone Kou's reiatsu and her own would climb and then lower out, she would leave typically after whatever they did within an hour or two.

Though that seemed to be a common element that Sun-Sun kept tabs on, some activity that raised the powers for a short amount of time; it must have been somewhat exciting since it often habit. She doubted it was ritual since whenever Kousou was alone he never raised his reiatsu and whenever she herself was having tea with him, they never performed exercises in raising their reiatsu…so she imagined that they indulged in something else.

"Well then Kousou, such secrets will no longer be those, you have hid it well from me…but now I will see why the other fraccion are in such a rise over you; what could be said about it? There wasn't anything directly in her mind from the objective, since he was so loose in his guard around her. She knew it as well as she was sure that her knew it too, that whenever he was within her presence that he became more lax. He knew how dangerous she was and yet he seemed at ease within her company; at ease of a great kind as if he let some great burden go that had been on his shoulders. She wasn't entirely clear on that, though it didn't matter too much. All would become clear tonight.

Once Aizen was done training Kousou for the day then she would be able to pry the secrets from his mind and body, he could not hide it from her it seemed…he had something about him that was likely a physical mystery; so to it would it be discovered.

--With Kousou, in Aizen's training room—

"Well done Kou-kun…you appear to have learned those mid-level kido pretty well, as I expected the potential is there. But I am more curious as to why your power doesn't grow more..? You have lots of possibilities and yet your body holds you back." Aizen's words sounded hauntingly accurate.

Kou gave a soft nod towards Aizen's words, did he know the secret so soon? Kou had tried not to betray his physiology towards Aizen at all, in fact he tried to keep it rather quiet and under wraps and yet he seemed to have no choice in the matter at all. He was stuck with a man who understood the Shincy as things went; learning Kou as if learning from a book on one's own time.

Aizen was indeed intrigued by the young shincy's ability, even his shinigami powers appeared to be more surprising than most cases. He seemed to be proficient in skill and only lacked true power; though it was a means of pushing him harder than normal to get the results one wanted.

"I am really interested in your Shikai, Kou-kun. I've decided that I will personally oversee your Bankai training with a close eye, I will give you what tools you need to earn your true power…faster. As it seems your body is different from Shinigami; but it retains the same qualities. I have surmised that your problem lies within your body's own belief in limitation, a frailty that your shinigami-form does not share with your human body. You possess more than your limits, so my test today will push that limit; Kou-kun your body will learn to overcome this to keep you alive." Aizen's smug grin never left his face as it seemed clear that Kou had no option in the matter.

All the young shincy could do was prepare himself for this, he stood his ground and reached for his Zanpakuto. Without another actual mention of the test beginning, from Kou's right came Tousen's zanpakuto in an arc; with enough force that it would have killed Kou had he not stopped it by half unsheathing the katana's edge. The force threw Kou into the air and it took him some moments to regain his balance, the amount of force...he was supposed to fight this..? This was a fallen captain's power...he would have to use every thought, every wit, and every ounce of strength just to hang on.

Logic was out the window by the time he was attacked again, as he had made an effort to block Tousen, only to be effortlessly thrown into a whirl. There was no hope was there? He had to release now!

"Slash with the four winds, Kazashiryuu!" without another moment's wait, Kou's familiar Chokuto saw light once again, as the near ornamental looking Zanpakuto caught Tousen's third swing; only this time managing to stop it before it blew him back as it had once before. To change things up, Kou went on the offensive before Tousen had the chance to make another move.

The flash of katana versus chokuto was a sight to behold, as the clash of energy appeared to be a sight of improvement in Kousou. Thanks to Harribel's training, he had more of his reiatsu all around to make use of and was now attempting to show his skill. He had always been proficient with his Zanjutsu, it was one thing that he had to study day in and day out to ensure that he was a capable handler of it. Perhaps it was that same drive that kept him alive right now as he faced down the blind ex-captain who's skills were still worlds beyond his, he could only imagine the kind of experience that this now Arrancar Commander had under his belt. Was there any true way that he could compete with this? He wasn't honestly sure, but didn't let the reputation defeat his confidence.

Quite the contrary, it was what pushed him to be better. As experience and raw reiatsu could make or break his survival chances while he was down here, he just hoped that he would be able to tolerate all of the training that he was being pushed towards. Pressure from his stay here was finally starting to wear on him, as the normally calm Kousou let his anger go a bit; he let it sharpen his blade as he had another pass with Tousen. This man would be his enemy in time...he thought about everything at once, the future and how his survival was dependant upon his growth while here. For the moment he was useful to Aizen, he was a _curiosity_ of sorts, but by no means did that mean that he was indispensable...that meant his days were numbered. He was having no illusion about anything...even should his bonds serve him, they could not save him; only growth could save him.

_'I have no choice, I must get stronger!'_

_**'And you are just now figuring this out kid? when did I get stuck with such a stupid other..?'**_

_'It is your help that I need, will you lend me your strength?'_

_**'Forsaken speeches! Shut up and use my power, after all moron; if you die then I die. I can't have that happening can I?'**_

_'Kazashiryuu, I need you to help me discover Bankai...I need that power before this man forces me into it.'_

_~You are forever foolish Kousou, we will discover it when you push yourself...harder than you ever have before.~_

_'Then, when next the time is ours alone...we will strive for it together.'_

_~...Perhaps you finally understand my power, a little more...Kousou.~_

His innerworld was never at full peace, for Kou's arbitrary styled leadership over those with whom he governed over was near subservient in turn. His biggest failing had always been assuredness of his own power, he asked them for their help...like partners, he wanted a fellowship of those who lived within his very soul. A peace that was unlike any other, he wanted a union with his zanpakuto and his hollow powers. Kazahshiryuu appreciated his mindfulness of her well-being, but while she respected her partner's kindness she expected him to exert more willful control. He was finally starting to learn this...she only hoped he was. There was still a relationship to be maintained, he held up to the understand part and now he had to take his place as her true wielder.

All of this had come to pass while he willfully defended himself against Tousen's brutal attacks, using more of his skill and revealing little by little of Kazashiryuu's true power. To truly understand a storm-elemental zanpakuto, one needed to know all of its facets and to his credit; Kou was a mindful study of every aspect of Kazashiryuu's potential as it was something he showed with Tousen.

"Remarkable skill for one so young." this said by the Commander of the Espada as he drew his head back to skillfully dodge the slash aimed for his face, while kicking the youth in the ribs and shooting him back; he felt a surge rip through his shoulder a moment which surprised him.

Tousen could feel it, a small charge that was something dull, perhaps a form of energy that had stricken him? He wasn't able to completely place just what it was that had hit him when it had; but it was enough. As he looked in Kou's direction using his spiritual sense, he found that the youth had been gathering a small concentration within his zanpakuto; drawing upon the elemental forces that he wielded. It was an interesting tactic that made his zanpakuto that much more lethal.

All the while Aizen watched his subordinate clash with this young man that had since been a slight curiosity and to his content, the boy was living up to everything that had been predicted thus far. As if all Aizen had to do was make a mention of just what his plans were to push the youth into action, it all seemed to work amazingly smoothly and the boy did not fight against it. He seemed to have accepted his place as a mere object and fall aimlessly into the attempt to grow; perhaps to impress him. But Aizen's curiosity had its limits, once the boy was no longer of use; he could be rid of him...or perhaps find another use for him in the grand scheme. It was almost too easy to control this boy he found.

Once more as Kou passed with Tousen, who had still neglected to release his zanpakuto, was still more than a match for the charged up shincy. Even though the violent clashes grew stronger with each pass; it seemed clear that Tousen still had the advantage; though as the situation deepened this would change. Since Kou had been letting each pass and slash that he either made or blocked, was spreading his energy all over. Random bits of wind, electricity, and water vapor were melting off of the tip of Kazashiryuu; burned by the force of the reiatsu that he was giving off and clashing against Commander Tousen with. It was that time to enact his attack, he called it...

"Uzushio Sansai Asshi! (Whirling Tides Flood & Storm, Crushing to Death)!" the sudden action of the attack created a swathing storm around the blind ex-captain, at which during the stir of actions; Kou brought his zanpakuto down with greater force than he had before. This time holding the crushing force of an entire storm behind his swing...surely it would count for something right?

Given that Tousen was wielding a sealed zanpakuto and that he was caught off guard, the attack managed to do something that was unexpected; it forced him back in his foot as he blocked the shincy's overhead slash. It was quite incredible pressure behind the attack itself and Tousen would be one to admit that the skill was unexpected, he was indeed tricky as Gin had stated.

"Hi-kaze Haruichiban(Blaze of Wind, First storm of spring)!" the command activated the flood of reiatsu around tousen further, bringing about the true destructive powers of the surrounding storm that was at his command.

It was nothing but a violent whorl and blaze by which Kou had activated, a large torrent of reiatsu, rain, high winds, and electricity all generated by his zanpakuto and clashing with Commander Tousen. To which had managed to surprise even Aizen, who had not fully understood the boy's potential with the Zanpakuto; it all became clearer after the attack.

And once more to his credit, Tousen hadn't foreseen such a devastating attack either. The end result was Kou covered in rainwater, panting as his powerful attack had hit home...though to a result he hadn't a chance to see. Kou still stood, huffing as he looked into the settling dust and brought his Chokuto up just in time; having heard only the whisper of an attack aimed for his neck.

"Kou-kun, I am impressed...as I believe Kaname is as well, such a powerful attack. This is the true power of Kazashiryuu? I am even more ecstatic to think of your Bankai now, if you can survive to receive it." Aizen was hiding nothing, the plans for this youth was going to be nothing but near-death battles for him day in and day out.

Kou hadn't heard a single word, for he was on the receiving end of another losing battle; far more fierce than before Tousen had already sliced his left shoulder and thrusted several wounds into his lower ribs. All Tousen had done under the cover of the end result of his attack, was use his Shikai; to which Kou was almost totally overwhelmed in his normal state. He could barely see the attacks coming, each thrust was like lightning and had hit him on several points of his body before he started resisting moreso.

Kou donned his mask in order to compensate for the loss of his reiatsu from before and the fact he just couldn't keep up...and with the addition of his hollow reiatsu, he was more capable in that moment. Blocking off the next few attacks with the end of his chokuto, he was already devising how he should make use of this addition...he was almost to the end of the training session; one way or another Kou knew that he couldn't maintain this level of power without some need to lash out with greater force. All he could hope was that it would suffice to hold out against the superior Commander Tousen, who hadn't needed anything more than his release in order to make the difference visible once again.

"Very good Kousou, but I'm afraid your effort fails here." Tousen had been ready to end this round, as Kou surmised this was a good time to use the rest of his reiatsu to ensure his survival; maybe even to avoid a more serious wound than before as well.

Tousen darted at him, making use of shunpo to increase his slash; he found Kou moving back for him with the same pace, this was over in the last pass. The clash of swords and the spray of blood, Kou had managed to avoid his death but could not avoid the tear along his arm; which just avoided anything worse than a superficial slice.

However upon the last pass with Kou's hollowified form, Tousen found to his surprise that the back of his hand had taken a slice. It seemed that Kou was at least stronger than the last time that he had done battle with Gin. Time stood still in Hueco Mundo, what time passed anywhere else was just not to the same level as Hueco Mundo; this was said to be the reason why arrancars were ageless.

"Most impressive Kou-kun...you have exceeded my expectations. I see that I will have to work harder to see that you have a challenge when next present. You are dismissed for now, you should go get your wounds tended to now." Aizen's smirk had been slightly wider than before, well he had much to consider when forcing this child to improve his power. He would have to increase his range of skill with kido, the boy did have a rather interesting skill with it.

As Kou's mask fractured and fell into shambles, the shincy started moving out of the room after letting his zanpakuto return to its sealed form; his mind surging with thoughts as he tried to focus his thoughts. He needed to think on the matter more clearly than he had been for the moment. He had no idea that he would incur such attentions, though they weren't very positive towards his survival; they were simply meant to improve his power and nothing in between. Had he any idea that Aizen would be instructing him in kido, he would have considered his options better...but the future was never clear for him. Day to day was becoming heavier on him as something new was always upon him; he would have to endure if he wanted to live. If he wished to see the light of day clearly, he had to become a little battle hardened and could only hope it was enough.

--Some hours later, in the fraccion mainhall--

As if on some kind of schedule what appeared to be a coincedence to Kousou was all too well planned, as Sun-Sun had been waiting quietly for his return after having finished her duties to Harribel-sama for the day; the moment was most opportune. As she invited him to her room for tea, something that had never happened on another time before. She made it clear that she knew he had a difficult day and that she would be the one to host tea today; even if it wasn't a common occurance.

"Well Kousou, will you join me for tea today? This is nothing common, so I would not grow used to it." Sun-Sun's tone was hinted with icy coolness, something to remind him just who he was talking to. She could be disagreeable if she chose to.

He gave her a soft smile and then a light nod.

"Why yes, I would be a foolish and dishonorable guest if I didn't accept your invitation. Please, lead the way and I will gladly attend." Kou let off a small sigh, well at elast he could relax while in her presence; tea was good for jostled nerves.

As it were he had no qualms about visiting his friend's room here, going in was something that he hadn't expected, her inviting him in was a little out of the ordinary; but it wasn't anything that he wouldn't accept. Sun-Sun was a very complex woman, a princess by her demeanor that generally kept to herself. She reminded him of Harribel-sama, in a way that was something that they shared in common, keeping to themselves unless it was something that was a general moment of importance to each of them. He was glad to avoid difficulty, she had not been so reclusive that he could not speak to her. At least as far as he was sure, he knew her well enough that he could relax when invited for tea. They generally chatted and sipped their tea, it was quiet and typically relaxing.

And with these thoughts in mind, he followed Sun-Sun into her room and promptly closed the door as instructed by her to do so; she was still his direct superior. The only difference between her and her two other fraccion, was that she had a commanding grace to her that also held a maturity that most didn't seem to take.

--Within Sun-Sun's room--

Things had been mostly the same Kou found, under her presence they had a fairly normal tea ritual that usually was entertained in his room. The only key difference was that she was playing hostess just as well as he could play host, she poured him his tea and offered him some honey and an array of add-ins for tea; to this it almost seemed more formal than Kou's usual methods. It was nothing that he was used to, so he just politely declined her offers and as they discussed each other's days, things seemed to remain as normal as ever.

"So, I noticed your reiatsu had spiked earlier, would you say that it was a higher level than before?" Sun-Sun's curiosity about his battle earlier remained in mind.

"I believe so, though I can't really remember it since I was under such pressure. I didn't realize that Commander Tousen was so vicious, I'd thought him a little more forgiving than Commander Gin." the words were spoken with some knowledge of the pain that came with that assumption; namely his wounds.

"Well, be happy that you have had your assumptions corrected. Had it been a real bout with Commander Tousen's true extent, you would have been dead before you knew it. Do not underestimate either Commander Tousen or Commander Gin, neither can be contended with by anyone of such low levels...you must grow stronger; for Harribel-sama you should." her words were simple, devoted, and direct. She expected Kou to do this without any second-natured thoughts.

He nodded to her softly, agreeing without a sign of hesitation.

"For Harribel-sama, I have been trying to improve my strength...as I cannot hope to survive this harsh land without that level of strength. She protects me from threats of the other more dangerous Espada; I must show my gratitude by growing stronger. So that she won't have to raise her power in such force." Kou's words were strangely determined, even to himself.

In that moment he knew that he fully intended to show his gratitude, for as long as he could think about it; he was under her protection and had come to no harm while under her watchful eye. In fact all she had done for him was show general concern for his health and wish to see him grow stronger so he could watch out for himself. Kou felt that he owed her something and wanted to pay back that debt.

Sun-Sun was surprised by this reaction from him, she saw the open expression in his eyes and knew he meant what he said. However while he meant it, he had surprised himself as well; the vulnerability was once more visible to her...and she eyed with a taste for it. Something about this boy's innocence drew her fellow fraccion after him, they had sampled it and went back for more. Just what was it that she was missing..? What could she not see about this boy? That taste was something vulnerable...and it appealed to her.

There was nothing more appealing about this boy other than the fact he was devoted to Harribel-sama, his innocence was a close second, and last was his physical appearance. He was strangely regal in his own way, though obviously from a peasant's position; he still held a strange beauty. With his unusual tone of blue hair and the twinkle in his eyes whenever he showed that innocence, he was hesitant and she doubted his survival; had he been a hollow. But his will was astonishing, pushing onward so through difficulty and taking his troubles head on.

She would taste what he had to offer her, as she knew he was relaxed this was the perfect time for her to enact her will.

"Kousou, I have been paying close attention to you for some time." Sun-Sun's tone seemed normal, but her eyes had narrowed slightly more.

He looked up with a question in his eyes, visibly he asked her with his eyes, 'what is it?' He hadn't pieced together what that statement meant. To this he received no answer, just her setting her tea cup down and letting her body rise from the opposite chair to the large couch. Her body's movements in their own, a snake-like sway...something hypnotic in nature; subtly slow motions of her movements towards him.

"It is time that you know, my intentions towards you are not purely academic. However...it is not to say that you will not learn something more about arrancar." her words still icy and straight-forward, her intentions were suddenly clear as day to him.

"I...must insist that this 'lesson' not go further, Sun-Sun-sama...I cannot do this. I consider you the closest one to a friend here, I can discuss with you...surely we cannot." he said as he started trying to move, managing to sit up before she reached him; though he found his body strangely lax.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked down at his face.

"I will insist just this once Kousou, that you consider that I am not here to force you. It is because my interest in you has deepened that I wish to know more about you. As you see...for me, I am not human as you are; I am not a shincy. I can only understand ones that I respect in a regard that I choose. The best way to study one subject is getting the facts from interaction, is this logical to you?" she said it as she sat down at his side, looking at his eyes, drawing her left hand back in front of her face as she looked at his eyes.

He blushed a little bit and tensed, what was she doing..? Wasn't she going to just...go on with it? He offered no words to her, just an embarrassed and questioning look in his eyes. More than anything at this moment was she easily stronger than him, even at full power she was greater in power than he was flat off able to generate and yet she didn't make a single move. She sat at his side with a relaxed look in her eyes, though her gaze still rested intently upon him for something.

"As I told you Kousou, I am neither Apache nor Mila-Rose. I am not here to force pain upon you and to have you feel betrayed...as I noticed your actions towards Mila-Rose are no longer where they once were. She was once a friend or rather she was under the guise of a friend to have you vulnerable. I am your friend, as you are the only person who understands manners and etiquette. I will not ruin what one thing I have to cherish in another that I can speak with." She said looking at him, speaking nothing but truth.

He gave her a soft nod, she had not been wrong and it wasn't like he enjoyed the reminder, it wasn't until Sun-Sun opened up to him that he could reveal any pains of a rough day. She was someone that he could trust and he realized that if she had wished it...then force would have long since been applied, Sun-Sun was a very direct woman in that regard.

He looked at her with eyes full of unsuredness, he wanted to trust her...but should he?

"You have doubt of my intentions Kousou, but ask yourself if I have lied to you before. Then consider that I am only ever about gathering understanding about things, I ask you that I cannot understand something that I have not initiated in; thus I am asking you to assist me in helping me gain knowledge." Sun-Sun's eyes betrayed nothing and her tone was cool, direct as it always was.

Kousou sat back with a look on his face, he was considering what she said...Sun-Sun had counted on him taking everything at face value. Now she merely needed to persist, his vulnerability was his biggest weakness and she would have what she seeked; given of his own accord.

"Very simple to take Kousou-san, I am asking you...and I am entrusting you with something as sacred as my chastity. I am asking you to bear it for me and help me to understand such action and events that lead to something profound. I ask you as you are the only gentleman with whom I could trust this action." Sun-Sun's words showed a curious lure and femininty that was unlike her; a momentary weakness of the woman beneath the complex mask of a princess.

Why did she want to entrust it to him? More confusion from Kousou was the result of this, she was asking him as a gesture to her; as a friend he was being asked to have her sacred fertility rite. He grabbed his head softly and squeezed the sides of his temples gently, he had a small crush on her from their meeting, she always managed to be so sophisticated. He had already been with both Apache and Mila-Rose, didn't she mind? He was sure that she knew this, her instincts were uncanny, as were her observations.

His eyes almost looked willing, but there was something that she could see in his eyes, that pushed forth more hesitation. It was easily remedied by a few simple words, that was a truthful observation of a difference between arrancar women and human women.

"I see you worry if I mind that you have been taken by Apache and Mila-Rose, however Kousou while your hesitation and thought over the reason is appreciated, understand that we arrancar do not share that frailty with human women. I can appreciate the fact that you do, but I do not mind...I wish for you to be the one to help me understand...understand humans and this intimacy a little more.." her words trailing off carefully, she nearly had him and needed his willful consent. Then he was the prey successfully lured into her coils.

Kou had come to accept what she was asking, though he could resist...she had been nearly pleading and showed him something that he had never seen before. Finally caving into the moment of her reasoning, he nodded to her on the idea.

"I...I will help you understand Sun-Sun, your curiosity towards this seems to be great enough that you are willing to sacrifice for it. That something is what you can only give once, are you sure...that you want to do this; with me of all people?" Kou questioned again, he felt that he could not ask it enough.

She had to be careful not to hint of her ulterior motives, so she instead gave him something a little more 'heartfelt' in its nature as a response. She gave him a very soft kiss on the edge of his lips.

"Kousou, I have decided that you are the _only _one that I could ever trust with this. Again I appreciate your caution but I have decided this, so it is now your turn to trust in me...I have an idea and I will lead us. But I need your help, I need your feelings and your mind to be present. I need you to truly feel out for me." she was stating what she needed gently, though giving him subtle hints; that she desired everything he could give her.

(---Warning Mature scene ahead---)

As his eyes closed and Kou leaned towards Sun-Sun, she knew that her plan had not only worked, but it had beautifully entrapped the young shincy before her, who now was going to give himself over. She could sample this purity and have it of his own free will; something that she knew neither of her comrades had managed to do. Taking things by force creates a natural barrier that maintains a sense of self for the victim, but if one coaxes the individual into the action or a false sense of security; there is little there to protect that same essence at the epicenter. She would not however destroy his mind, she was just going to devour him...as she had fully planned beforehand. To take the purity from him, sample what feelings that a human could give off; he would feel all of this to her in every conceivable way in her mind, it would be perfect.

Sun-Sun let her instincts guide her...slowly into this process as she set her hand along his shoulder, turning to face him on the couch as she leaned in towards his lips. She found his lips pursed once they were nose to nose, taking the offer of his she pressed a chaste kiss against his lips once more; not wishing to scare him so quickly. While she drew him closer, sliding him upon he was at the side of her couch, she began to sample those feelings that she was getting from his lips. It had been a kind of sweetness that she was not used to in most cases. In fact she had never felt such feelings before, these were unrestrained by his wish to hold them back.

As it was she sampled his madness: the blend of his unknowing emotions and his sadness that appeared to be huge within his mind. A blend of numerous held back life that was harbored by Kousou. Did he hold such self doubts? She took all of it in, absorbing what of his innocence that she felt from within. His 'taste' was a very curious blend and was something of a flavor that she could not say she often was exposed to such a unique feeling from him. She was soon riding the emotion that was pouring off of him and something from within that was foreign; the feeling of a growing lust.

It did not take long for the arrancar female to find her hands lurking over his body, what it meant to feel things and take them at the face value; this was something that was foreign to her. Kousou was a mysterious case to her, as she could not understand a boy with so much on his mind could continue to go on as he did. It was just the method that he chose to place it on different parts of his mind, more like a way of shifting the weight on his shoulders; a way of balancing that always meant he was under pressure. She had taken all of it from him, drained him of these emotions through their kiss in order to feed her understanding of the situation for the young shincy.

As for Kou, he was in a strange place right now, as this was nothing that had presented itself to him before; in fact it was something that was alien to him. By now he was used to being pinned flat or thrown down and just pushed into mating; yes such a crude term came for the form of savageness that he had suffered at the hands of Apache. It was a way of tossing him down and being taken with or without one's will being present in the decision, it didn't matter really.

His mind was still lurking as his clothing was taken off slowly, the kiss almost never breaking despite their near separation a few times. He found that their bodies were still very close, his mind in a haze at whatever strangeness that he was feeling from the link of the kiss; there was something strange about her tongue stroking his lips and teasing the ridge of his lips and yet not pushing entry. She was not like Mila-Rose, who was quick to take a rough tongue kiss while she enjoyed her rape of his body. There was no better way to describe Mila-Rose's treatment of his body, with such force and strength that often left him with bruises; he was not free of the kiss or the slamming of her hips upon his own. It was a bizarre way of putting it, since he was forced on a regular schedule of some kind; he endured something that had become as regular as clockwork. He knew that it could be predicted and thanks to his inner-hollow, he internalized a strange kind of love for his superiors' rape. It was one thing that he condemned his hollow for, though it wasn't like he could split off from the feelings that was inside of his body.

It felt strange to move slow, as finally the last of his garments hit the ground; his mind was in a haze and his eyes unable to focus as he was finally laid on his back. His gaze was almost meek, she was being so gentle and he hadn't expected this; almost afraid to move he had yet to respond to her gentle touches upon his body. It was an alien expierence to see such an elegant woman like Sun-Sun doing things so...gracefully, he was hypnotized into watching her remove her robe-like dress. It was like a magical dance the way that her long sleeves slowly peeled back the center of her long dress, parting it at the center and drawing it down the middle to reveal her choice in a soft pink bra; something about the choice in color and it matching the pattern of dots under her right eye beautifully.

Sun-Sun was taking it slowly, however she did not appear to be bothered by her actions. Things were being performed with the intent to further enchant Kousou, she had enjoyed the chance to use an instinctual skill in her seduction of the young man; it was somewhat gratifying to have someone give himself over to your will. As she rested upon his body, she let her body move slowly in a wave-like motion; a near slither perform inhumanly perfect. To her credit it gained a small shiver from Kousou, who had been totally bespelled by her motions.

Though he'd seen the powerful Apache's bare body, her released form, and the well endowed body of Mila-Rose; for his viewing Sun-Sun the way she moved was unlike anything he'd seen. His cheeks had tinted a darker red once she unbound the rest of her dress and slid it off to the side of the couch bed, what was it about her that was so enchanting; could he even begin to comprehend the completeness of her beauty? Her skin was a soft pale peach, almost as pale as the white that they both were. Her flawless beauty was upheld by a stream-line body and visible lean musculature, he had never seen her flesh bare to his eyes. She was so exposed and yet so bold, her gaze unflinching as he looked upon her form in awe.

For Sun-Sun it was more of a moment to explore the young man's body with her eyes, since she had undressed him of his new attire of a set of the white with black outlines; a kimono and hakama that adorned his muscular body quite well. While he wasn't so bulky, his body was still well defined and his youthful body was well muscled, he seemed to be beyond the average fitness level of someone his age. She imagined it was from all of the hard training that he had subjected himself to before. He had a more difficult regimen to keep up with now since coming, she knew it would keep his body in shape. There was a strange kind of beauty to his nearly flawless skin, however to this she eyed his new wounds; those gotten from his fight against herself, Mila-Rose, and Apache when they first were sent after him, what appeared to be his battle with Gin, and his most recent scar from Commander Tousen. She imagined that despite the well done healing but their medics, he was not arrancar and could not heal flawlessly...not to their level it appeared.

Kou's thoughts were miniscule, little more than observations of her beautiful body, to this as he felt her rising body and slowly lowered her hakama; worn beneath the dress they gave her plenty of cover and hid herself from the open: as a princess should be well refined. It was in this way that she completed the taming of this innocent crow beneath her, was the moment that he saw her in a matching set of a pink bra and something of a waist sash around her hips, hiding the soft pink undergarments worn by the hebi hime(Snake Princess).

After what was a few moments of just swaying her body above him, she removed her bra and her waist sash, sliding them down and still leaving her choice of soft pink panties lowered down her long legs. Until finally she decided that it was time for them to sample this, she had a complacent captive beneath her whose entire face was beet red as he was subjected to her attentions. She led her bare skin to stroke his body one way, like smooth scales did her skin gently slide along his body; allowing her an inhuman grace when pressed to him. She felt his persperation and smiled, he was ever so nervous and awaited her actions; she knew that he'd never been allowed to initiate anything with either Mila-Rose or Apache. One of which preferred being loud and dominant and the other who was in her own way likened to a lazy but fiercesome lioness.

It seemed that neither would she allow it, since he offered control of this mood to her; she rose her waist slightly, enough to draw his well erect member into her hand and align his shaft with her netherlips. Slowly offering him a moment to an extremely forceful grip, a very tight hold almost immediate as she descended slowly upon his manhood. The actions getting a soft sigh from her lips, the shock of feeling something hot and warm parting her innerwalls for the first time was something of recognition in her mind. She had taken it gently so as not to harm her so badly, knowing that as a shinigami even his body simply could not handle the kind of pressure that an arrancar's could.

Kou was shuddering at the feeling around his member, it was just...so hard around him, as he felt her virgin tunnel had already been squeezing him to the point of pain. Was he just so sensitive? His eyes shut at the feeling of her quicker descent, she appeared to have foreknowledge of the natural barrier that kept a sort of mark of her virgin state present; since she dropped down onto his member and force him inside of her. The sudden move was met with a soft hiss from Kousou, something that drew her attention down to his face. As she rested at the hilt of his length, he knew only a hot pulsing grip around him that worked as one superior force; it appeared to be natural the way her body basically acted as one muscle. After all that was all serpents had done, used their entire body to move along the ground; he was now finding this out the hard way.

He hissed? That was unusual again and to this she chose to examine his face, tracing her fingers along his cheeks while leaning down to taste a kiss once again. Sun-Sun chose her body's motions to be subtle at first, since such movement was only nature's gift of her grace. Her body moved from the neck down in a careful wave while she tasted his lips, her body carrying the slide of her form until her hips rose and lowered simotaneously. The ultimately inhuman act had earned her a gasp from him, into the kiss...as once more she began to drink down his every feeling. She suckled on his lips while her tongue gently drew into his mouth, massaging it in a way that was alien to him; something she could tell as he tried to respond with soft motions of his tongue. However this was what she preferred, completely confused and subdued prey while she sampled what he had to offer her.

As this near loving act was committed, Sun-Sun's body moved in ways that were far beyond Kousou's enchanted mind could consider. It was just amazing the way she moved her body against his, laying flat and yet having a powerful thrust of her hips every few moments that was beyond grace. Her body swished the way hips would in order to carry the power of her full body's motions, while her lips and tongue tantalyzed his mouth; her tongue forced his into submission through a subtle swirling motion and constriction placed around his gentle flesh. In combination with her suckling and her hips swaying and bucking down in such a way that seemed just impossible to Kou, it was why he was unable to comprehend it. Her hips were gentle and yet hard, a range of motions from sliding around on his member to bucking down onto him, yet so fluidly and without ever stopping. There was no moment for him to breathe and to that, Kou's nose was inhaling almost violently from the strange sensation of nearly asphyxia coupled with her walls clamping down on him at all times. Holding him firmly within her, he was constantly under the pressure of a powerful udilating set of muscles that sent full pulses and a constant heat around him; while she forced him back into her body.

In truth Sun-Sun's manner of contact with Kousou was beyond manipulative, as at all times was his mouth, manhood, and body within her hold at all times. She took him with immense strength and merely held the illusion of it being soft, while she completely domineered her well and made him hers; she never once betrayed his trust openly. From the side of his emotions to the doubling pleasure she was receiving (since she's feeding Kou's feelings of Euphoria, fear, and pleasure); her climax was rapidly approaching. Yet in her hands, when it would hit was also her choice; she even kept the sound level down and gave his body no time to adapt and thus even their reiatsu levels were low. It was in complete stealth that Sun-Sun raped Kousou, in her way it was not just mentally...but physically and physiologically. This was why they constantly returned to Kousou...his innocence, sensuality, kindness, refueling emotions...she had desired to taste them all and now she had this chance.

To Sun-Sun's credit as she constantly gorged upon the physical stimulation his member and mouth offered her, she kept it subtle; pressing her body flush and fully against his, almost close enough to the point of coiling him up and squeezing the rest of his energy free of his body. Her rawly predatory act was not at all contained and still with a cold efficiency that would have done her living world counterparts great justice. He was hers...willingly and wholefully in her mind, he gave himself over and bowed to her in his activities, and now sexually she had owned him. Perhaps she might indulge in this, though likely not at the level that her fellow fraccion did. There was no need for that level of it, as the way she fed off of this boy's form was entirely...who would need to be a slave to such a carnal act? Not one such as she.

Sun-Sun's mind, body, and soul was suddenly sated...devoured herself by a white light, something that claimed her vision and control as she spasmed violently around Kousous; she finally allowed him to release it seemed...there her walls loosened their grip only briefly, if just before Kou's essence shot into her, just before suddenly gripping down twice as hard. A vise in deadlock on his length, she forced his length to give her body his essence bit by bit, controlled by her spasms as she held him tightly. And then...the great blissful silence had followed this action.

(---End Mature Scene---)

All in the way, Kou was drained and had no reason for himself as to why. As Kou lay there, his arms somewhat around the woman newest in his life...Kou realized that he felt somewhat empty. He was unsure what to think of the matter at first, since he was simply there laying beneath her as she gently breathed while resting against his chest. He felt only soft glimmers of something like bliss, he was sure that he had been feeling things beforehand; but was unable to think of anything but how tired he was. His eyes shut gently as he drifted off to sleep, beneath the one who had preyed upon him wholly. Yet in an unaware bliss, never knowing that he had been devoured in every way possible.

To this, Sun-Sun was not that surprised, Kou's falling asleep was natural after the kind of thing she'd done to him was performed, taking so much out of him at once and leaving him with very little to himself. A victim and yet still within her coils, to this she actually parted a strange smile of sorts...her victim would still trust her and would allow her to return to him for more. His heart was far too soft in that right, he would allow her to take her advantage of him. She examined what it was that she tasted on his lips, as it was a crush he had on her from before; a subtle infatuation with her that was somewhat flattering. She found his heart held a strange tenderness and there an obsession with what she'd done to him; that to which she imagined was the essence of his inner-hollow. Though she knew very little about it, she did understand how hollows were more direct and open about their wish to devour more...so it seemed that as she had fed, so did he upon what was a very desirable bit of prey.

As she allowed his member to withdraw from her and shrink away, while he slept did she take him to her bathroom and while his body slumbered in an exhaustive sleep; she cleaned him up while she took a bath. Having left him in a smaller side bathing block on one end of her bath; she wiped his form over completely, ensuring that he was free of her body's givings towards him. She felt that it was only expected of her to do for him as he slept, she had taken nearly everything from his body and left him his health; though even that took some restraint of her not to do while she held him. He was far to frail and was almost a victim to her, as for her it came very close and had her restraint not been so high she would have done something that resulted in her death.

"For you foolish Kousou, your lack of restraint in your belief makes you a victim. But to that do we seal ourselves to you in some way, a bond created by what we take from you." her words speaking of course of her own discovery of the truth; regardless of the fact who was the 'major force' in the relationship formed with Kousou, this still bound them to him on some level. As she herself knew she would return for more...though certainly she could ignore the urge, the real reason became whether _she_ actually wanted to resist the need of his flesh and innocence.

While the fraccion worked on cleaning up her subordinate fraccion other, she thought to herself of the implications of this...indeed Mila-Rose had been right on some level; she relented and had indulged in the young man as the other two had. Perhaps in one peculiar way, Mila-Rose was quite intelligent when she tried. Eventually, the snake princess would return the sleeping Kousou to his room to allow him to sleep deeply; he had some hours before he would need to raise for the offered dinner later this evening by Harribel-sama.

--In the fraccion hall--

As Sun-Sun was almost to her room, she felt the heat of spiritual pressure against the back of her hair, something typical and all too familiar to her. Apache's glare was sternly upon her face, while she took another step towards her; with a nearly bored sigh Sun-Sun's attention to the always-angry deer arrancar might need some focus. She knew this matter was over Kousou as she could see it in her eyes: the reason for this confrontation was territorial.

"What exactly do you wish to bother me about Apache?" she said speaking in her typical tone denoting her regality.

"Don't bullshit me! What the hell were you doing to Kou?! And you'd better tell me the truth, I can smell him on you and your damnable stench from the edge of his room!" Apache's eyes narrowed more so, of course she was nearing the pissed off marker; even before the confrontation started.

Sun-Sun ignored her comment and offered her nothing as an answer.

"If you don't want to talk, how about I squeeeze that damn skinny throat of yours, you snake wench!" Apache's first aggressive move was taken.

Disappearing in a flash of sonido, Apache attempted to grab Sun-Sun and had just missed her throat. While Sun-Sun effortlessly drew back and eyed her reckless opponent and her moves carefully, she stayed just out of grasping range; a way of toying with her. Something that Apache hardly appreciated and the sudden actions taken by her were something of a quick growing escalation. Sun-Sun's eyes widened a little bit as she noticed the Bala formed around her left wrist; however it was not released and instead used as a bludgeon of sorts. Apache found the annoying sway motions of the snake to be a pain in the ass, she was trying to bash her face in and she kept dodging her.

"Stop that cowardly shit and stay still!" Apache's tone was still annoyed, almost outraged that she kept dodging.

"Only a fool would ask that, as you see that you are inferior...you still persist." Sun-Sun's goading made it worse for Apache's anger.

Apache's forehead vein buldged visibly as she snarled and formed a second focused bala around her wrist and proceeded in chasing Sun-Sun around the wide hall. To no end did it seem that she was quitting, yet she could not catch the much swifter snake princess; who stayed about two steps ahead and kept teasing her. These antics continued until Mila-Rose who had been watching from the side had her fun, suddenly appearing in front of Apache and grabbing her wrists; and with some effort holding the angry arrancar woman back in her tracks.

"Oi, you moron what the hell are you doing?" Mila-Rose looked at her in the way one would talk to a child, expecting a stupid remark from her.

"Trying to kill that bitch! What else? Now get the hell out of my way!" Apache said in an angry grunt, struggling to pull free from her comrade's grip on her wrists.

"Are you a dumb ass? And what happens when you destroy a part of the wall again? Harribel-sama overlooked it the first time since it had been a first time offense, but she won't be so lenient the second time; are you wanting to be a hard learner?! Chill your heels idiot! Go and blow off the steam elsewhere." Mila-Rose said this before shoving her back a few steps.

Apache's glare was hot with new anger at being insulted, but...she knew that Mila-Rose was correct in her words. She had been forgiven without any incident at her lack of restraint with her powers, but she was not so blind that she could not see through to reason. After a few moments of her huffing in order to calm down, her eyes shut as she released one final breath in an attempt to relax. Just before finally turning to head outside; she had to blow this off positively...training would be a good start. And a nice way to work up an appetite, she could deal with her annoying comrade in Sun-Sun later.

"Very well, I'm gonna go blow off this steam properly, but...if you don't explain what you are trying to do with Kousou Sun-Sun, you can bet that I'll be giving you some pain next time." Apache's words were relaxed, but determined and seemed sure.

As she left, Sun-Sun was admittingly a little impressed with Apache's conviction. She honestly intended to learn of what she and Kou had done and was seeking to extract it by force; that thought was amusing to her. Sun-Sun would tell her...after she reviewed some things for herself in mind. Since now, with her mind free of that curiosity she could explore things of something that she considered a more important line of focus.

"Finally gave into your urges eh? Well I told you, its not that easy to resist what others are indulging in before your eyes. You don't have to admit it to me...I can see that look of clarity in your eyes Sun-Sun. Just know that you are sharing that boy, the little bird who tries to resist what he cannot." Mila-Rose left it at that, leaving the one-sided comment to Sun-Sun as something of food for thought.

As the other two fraccion left their main hallway, Kousou slept deeply upon his bed, with yet another chain bound to his burden...his mind made up on getting stronger; it seemed that enduring such a rough burden would only build his fortitude. He only hoped deep down inside, that he would survive this outcome with some sense of self...though he thought it might be hard; feeling the subtle feelings of Stockholm syndrome invading his psyche, even when at rest.

(End Chapter)

Now my longest chapter to date, sets a new record and a standard for things to come. As you now note, Kou had three different types of situations with each arrancar woman and their relationship with him; of which none are positive and all take a toll on his mind. Will Kou be able to bear the brunt of Aizen's 'training', these mental and physically stressing relationships, and a wish to grow stronger all at once? Stay Tuned!

Until the next chapter I bid you adieu.

-Quentix


	8. Chapter: In the eyes of a Shark Empress

A/N: As you've noticed this fire is still burning strongly, the idea is not yet slowing and I am answering its call by quickly updating. And so the epic tale continues(my choice of words to describe it xD), Kou's difficulties will only continue to grow as he falls subject to Aizen's influence…let it unfold as the fic continues. Enjoy yourself readers, if you have any questions of any kind, post them to me and I will do my best to answer you ^^.

And before anyone says anything about arrancar not eating, I know I know. Even if they don't truly need to eat I have it for story progress and don't ask me how Harribel (normal state) would be able to eat or drink tea; I bet it must be possible.

Well without any further adieu, into the story we go!

(End A/N)

Chapter VII: In the eyes of a Shark Empress

As Kou's sleep finally came to end, he had rested for a total of about 5 hours, as the time in Hueco Mundo passed ever so strangely; with no true method of clocking the passage of time, Kou went best with what he could sense of his surroundings. His mind was hazy as he sat up in his bed, covered in a blanket that he had recently knit from spiritual threads in an effort to keep his control sharp. He found that it was nice to have something warm when the breezes came from the open window. As Kou stretched his body out, aside from a few dull aches he seemed no worse for the wear as he found.

Soon it would be time for him to go before Harribel to eat dinner…this would be the first time that he was ever present in such a situation. Such a surprise to him at first, but as the other fraccion expressed that it was something that they regularly did; his nerves calmed a bit. It wasn't going to be so formal that he would have to be 'stiff necked' this was what Apache referred to his manners as. She called him haughty and annoying whenever he resorted to his manners, though he was glad to see that those like Sun-Sun and Harribel herself seemed to find it as a plus.

This meant that he was seen in somewhat of a decent light in her eyes and to that he was one to enjoy the reception he received; subtle praise from Harribel or Sun-Sun was a rarity and when it happened a treat of a kind. He knew that he would prefer it if things could always remain so professional. But that was no longer possible, now as he found with any of the arrancar women that he worked with. Each had in one way or another become intimate with him and that awkwardness that should be there…wasn't. His inner hollow Yami-Kou was starting to help him cope with the feelings. It was an awkward time for Kou indeed, but he would make due since this was life and it was rarely kind to individuals unable to deal with a little flak.

As Kou re-dressed himself in a replacement garb of his current 'Las Noches Shihakusho' as he had dubbed it unofficially was what he was expected to wear. It was in this light of course that he kept his own attire off to the sides, keeping it cleaned and pressed. He decided that it was fine to wear this garb as long as he was here, it appeared that he had submitted by wearing this while keeping his true clothing safe. He still remembered just who he was and knew that his parents would come soon for him. His mother was probably getting near frantic in her worry about him and to that regard, he would do all he could to get stronger; so he could better resist when his parents came. How could he be so sure of their arrival? The instinctual knowledge of his parents obvious over-protective ideology, they were both well meaning parents and hadn't kept him sheltered too badly; but they surely tried to keep him safer than he thought was necessary.

A knock on the door broke his concentration, he was fortunate to have already prepared to go so short a time ago; he had been ready before sitting down to think things through.

_**'Kou, don't think too hard...as it seems you've become quite the focus here, honestly I don't envy being 'master' or 'subject' in this particular setting. Hah you get all of the shit from these arrancars and I just enjoy the good stuff.'**_

_'Don't speak like that Yami-san you know I detest profanity.'_

_**'...Shut the hell up and get to this damn dinner already, alright?'**_

_'I will have to help you get over that bad habit.'_

It was enough to try and get through to him without the need of swearing, but Yami tended to have it his way, since he hated the good manners that Kou had and the fact that they were rubbing off on him from too much interaction. Though that wasn't much of a choice, it was just that what came with the territory of lending Kou his power; a vast trade off for blending their souls together. As both Inner-hollow and Shincy, one fed into the other as only naturally as was possible.

Kou answered the door without another thought to race through his mind, there opening it up he found Sun-Sun looking to him and gesturing idly to her side.

"Come Kousou, it is time for our dinner with Harribel-sama." her voice was neutral and as cool as it usually was.

He gave a gentle nod and a light smile.

"Of course, please lead on Sun-Sun-san." still showing some degree of respect to her with that, that was something she acknowledged about Kou; was a genuine respect he seemed to have for each of them.

While she led Kou down the long corridor, Mila-Rose and Apache had seemed to be waiting ahead; eyes on Kou as he came up behind Sun-Sun. To each their own reason for wanting to be near the boy, for Apache it was to assert her position or ownership of the boy while for Mila-Rose it was in her own light amusement to torment him in the many ways she did. However there would be little time for that, since the trip down the hall led them straight to the main entrance to Harribel's personal hall.

With the great doors opening before them apparently on their own, Kou's eyes widened somewhat at the marvels before him...of the just immense space that the hall had. The large open of rooms and what appeared to be a mini-plaza of its own accord resting there on the grounds as well. He had never seen such a large established area that was not populated by public...but in its sheer size, there was still a subtle silence. All was very still, until Harribel's presence had begun to fill the area.

Something about it was gentle and calming, though the weight was still quite immense...was there really a way to describe it? It didn't seem likely in truth; he was not sure how he could describe Harribel's aura. Something that was almost like a gentle wave crashing against a massive beachfront, harboring great force that just echoed lightly. Her power...it seemed limitless when compared to his own and for all he had improved in, he felt hopelessly weak when in her presence. It was something of just immense measure that he could not bring to words.

"Welcome ladies, Kousou." she offered a polite greeting to them and a nod to acknowledge their presence.

As it was like clockwork, each of the fraccion bowed their torsos partway and greeted Harribel-sama without any question.

"Happy to greet you, Harribel-sama."

"Greetings Harribel-sama."

"Good Evening Harribel-sama."

"Good Eve, Harribel-sama."

To each their own, a greeting of a kind to the Tres Espada, who kept her own record of Kousou's actions. Was he always so fast to conform? Though it was not forced as she thought it might be, in fact it was a little strangely natural for him...he was not straining anything and his smile was somewhat genuine while within her presence. It puzzled her as to the fact that a captive would find any joy while in the hands of the 'enemy', despite her not finding herself in the wrong; she just knew the facts that normally they would stand on the lines of opposition to one another. She wanted to know what made him so relaxed when before them in this way, it was a strange kind of light that she found about him, the only thing that seemed to bead off of Kou was a feeling of gratefulness.

It was another thing that made him such a mystery all in all, none of those who interacted with him could fully understand what angle the shincy was coming from. What could make any enemy submit to a point of compliance the way he had? The fact remained that he was not responding in any way negative to the stimulant he was being given; yet his will seemed to be intact as far as many could see whenever looking at him. As to one fact was that he'd changed, but one could not attribute it to his situation.

Even as Harribel guided her fraccion to the room where the dining would soon be undertaken, had been considering the seating arrangement given their extra dinnerguest and new addition to her fraccion. While there was space it did make it a little odd just putting him anywhere and so at first, Harribel let her fraccion try to decide amongst themselves where they would seat the youthful shincy.

Sun-Sun sat herself at the usual seat she had, to Harribel-sama's right even though it was not too close to crowd her, this was where she sat. She already noted the trouble would be between the two most childish of the two others she worked with so often, in battle they were fiercesome...anything else their interactions could be pathetic to see in truth.

"Oi, Kou sit here." Apache's voice was light, but still in that way demanding in its own right. She expected him to sit beside her, so that both Mila-Rose and Sun-Sun would learn to respect her rights to him; she had been the first he was with and he was _hers_, in her mind there was no argument against that fact. She had claimed that right and he remained hers first-off, even if she did share with the both of them; priority was hers.

Mila-Rose gave him a soft wink, though it was teasing it also seemed to hold some hints within it. What would she do about it later? While this wasn't clear, it did already put her and Apache at odds. In that light she seemed amused that Apache made a small sound and glared at her subtly, there was nothing that would happen in front of Harribel-sama...but that didn't mean she wouldn't indulge Apache's anger later for her own amusement. She always did like a good fight to start off a later evening, it was always fun for her.

While the matter wasn't getting anywhere fast with the awkward silence, Sun-Sun was observing in silence and wondering if they would be _that_ stupid to fight over him in front of Harribel-sama...were that stupid? It made her wonder just where Kou stood on that decision as he seemed oddly silent, fidgeting before he was about to make a decision; knowing he'd regret one later. However someone was looking out for him after having seen the situation, with some interest towards the way that her fraccion were acting over this shincy. She made the decision for everyone.

"Kousou, I would like to request your sitting at my left...we have not spoken very often and I would like to ask you questions about your life." Harribel's words were soft spoken as they usually were, but it still always got her a result rather fast; something that she was glad that Kou seemed to hold as a quality, he made a decent fraccion thus far.

"Of course, Harribel-sama." He said in acknowledgement and headed over to the seat that she offered him. It was such a polite request how could he refuse? After all it wasn't right to refuse such an honor.

Once in the seat, the two bickering arrancar women knocked it off and sat next to each other, Mila-Rose amused once more by the anger that Apache felt. She could see just how bitter that Apache had become over that particular experience, she was _not_ very happy that this was the result. But she could live with it, since Mila-Rose wasn't near him either, which meant that she would simply tolerate her until after dinner.

Harribel briefly waited for everyone to settle before gesturing for everyone to eat, a silent from her towards the food had gotten her fraccion to finally dig into the food. It was of course done proper and even kind gestures passed off at the table, such words as 'thank you', 'please', and even 'would you mind?'. This was one of the few times that Sun-Sun had any real respect for the manners of her partners, since Kou normally was so polite it was no surprise to her. What really had her in wonder was what questions that Harribel-sama might pose to Kousou? It was true that she hadn't at least openly talked to him.

While wonder rant hrough the minds of her fraccion, Harribel herself was focused on the first question and was just thinking about his responses. She wondered just how he might respond and whether or not she'd be able to tell was he lying? He had been forward so far and never lied once...she wouldn't doubt the sincerity that he had shown thus far. She'd give him the benefit of a doubt and listen to his responses and take them at face value, though looking for any subtle messages within his demeanor.

Kou honestly couldn't believe all of this situation...was he truly so interesting? He didn't really think so personally, aside from what he was by blood and those respective people that he'd come from; his power was nothing spectacular and yet...even the most powerful of the traitors to Soul Society had taken interest in him. He just wasn't sure how he was going to deal with the whole thing, even though he sort of took it as it came; he was sure that it might cause some problems of him in the future; though as to how to deal with it..? Well he just had to continue to tough it out as he was thus far.

His thoughts once more broken by word of another, it had been Harribel-sama...and her first question.

"So Kousou, I would like to ask you about your parents...who is Quincy and who is the Shinigami?" it was a general question about his lineage, Kou felt no need not to tell who was what; since either way he'd still be a shincy.

"Well Harribel-sama, my mother is the Quincy and my father is the Shinigami." he offered the answer with no hesitation and a smile, before taking another bite of the fine cuisine...it was very similar to some food he'd eaten in Soul Society the one time that he'd actually been.

The next question was nothing too surprising, one of curiosity.

"In what way did you acquire your hollow-powers?" another question, since she herself knew about such a thing; the unveiling of the arrancar antithesis was still a little shocking to those who actually gave it thought. Of course...that didn't extend to a lot of the Espada, most were too busy to care really it seemed.

"My powers were acquired by battle with a more powerful opponent who defeated me with ease...honestly I was tossed aside effortlessly at first. Then the darkness came as I lay dying and all I remembered was that I had defeated some great shadow within my soul...I was allowed to re-awaken with these powers. My Inner-hollow now granting me another layer of powers that I never knew existed before I gained them." these words true as well, he kept his opponent vague...not wanting this to lead into more knowledge about his family.

The truth was that Kou hoped to keep as much secret as possible...he did not wish for Harribel-sama to understand the issues within his own family. His mother and father loved him immensely and anything that was ever done was for the sake of protecting him, he was old enough now that he could comprehend; but it did not mean that he was free of any issues. After all...who wouldn't have trust issues after your father nearly got you killed right? He didn't resent his father the least bit for it, but still a lack of trust was there on a very small level.

She nodded to his answer and proceeded to the next question, feeling no need to try and get an answer out of him about his attacker, the major questions were to be asked for her own sake of knowing first.

"Might I ask who trained your skills? Your knowledge of cero and our abilities, plus your shinigami abilities are well formed for such a young warrior Kou. It is not so common to find such a skilled hand at your point in life." both question and comment were an honest opinion, he _was _quite good for his age, better than a lot of Shinigami that she'd seen fall to the blades of her fraccion. The fact he stood his ground without many wounds was a big testament to that.

To which that was also easy to answer, he would have to use a little careful dodging...but he could evade who trained _what_ skill to the extent of today.

"Well as you might expect, my knowledge of Shinigami powers comes from my father, who made sure I could handle a sword and know what Shikai and my Kido. My mother saw to the fullest extent of my Quincy powers so that they could compare with the level of my Shinigami skills. I learned my knowledge of Hollows from both of my parents and my skills with cero were focused on when I met a man called Urahara Kisuke." this last part also right, he had told no lies...just held out the fact that his father was the reason he was a Vizard and the fact that his father himself _was _also a Vizard and where his true training came from, Urahara did train him in understanding a hollow, their weak points, and how to use his new skills against them as well.

So none of it was a lie, she found no fault with his answers and his words were sincere and true up to this point, that kind of honesty was something that she could appreciate. So... Kousou had known _that _man who was responsible for the item that Aizen-sama had mentioned only once or twice before. Taking him to show off the powerful item on occasion whenever he was 'awakening' one of their newest arrancar members, she had seen the little orb and felt uneasy before its immense presence. As if it had eyes by which to scan one's soul, the great orb known only as the Hougyoku. How could one have ever desired such an item? Only one as fearless as Aizen-sama...that was the thought that came to mind.

Giving off another thought, she put her attentions back on her newest fraccion, as almost immediately another question had come to mind.

"And Kousou, do you know just how far your hollow-powers can be pushed? As I have seen your powers and they certainly are our abilities, to a much lesser degree...I am still curious if you know for yourself?" the question was understandable.

Kou was fairly quick on answering this for her, he had no clue about the capabilities of how far his own powers. To this he shook his head at her question before speaking up.

"I wish I did Harribel-sama, this would let me know as to what level of my powers I can access...I will admit that I have been curious of that myself; but I have never known in all truth. I have experimented in the past by myself, but I cannot say that I know by chance." he was able to admit something simple as that.

Once again she nodded, the questions were simple and yet some occasionally prodding deeper into his personal life; but he still gave her the answers that she seeked. Harribel could appreciate the forth-coming attitude and his positive stance when she asked him the next question.

"And this final question to you Kousou, is while I do not doubt whether you serve me with devotion, the question I must ask you is...why do you?" she could've added more but decided not to do so.

Taking a soft breath, Kou gave it his all with this one, to explain as clearly as possible to her.

"Harribel-sama, while I can understand the question, the answer to is just as simple as any other. For as I am your fraccion now, by Aizen-sama's word...I have not been harmed by you or any other Espada while under your watchful gaze. You look after my health and ensure that I am doing as well as I can...and such thoughtful tasks as ensuring my health endures this time of captivity; though I am captured it is to honor my family name and your protection of me that I do this. For as long as you are so honorable in your actions, do you deserve not only my respect, but my devotion as well. I will...give you every ounce of effort I can muster, it is only befitting as I am your fraccion Harribel-sama, please rely on my as you would any other." While these feelings were true of their nature, he felt a great debt to her for caring for his well being so well.

In truth she didn't have to watch over him as well as she'd done, as he had seen Orihime brought in after what seemed like a week or two ago...time was so difficult to tell he never truly knew. He was kept far from who might be his only human friend while here, his exposure was only to his quarters and the constant attentions of two demanding arrancar women with one other who took her time with being with him.

Harribel took a moment and after deciding that Kousou had meant his words as much as he had the others, she determined then it was time to give him the answer that had been there on her mind some of this time. There was no need for him to feel that he was stuck alone or didn't have any support, so she would allow him to know this more clearly.

"Kousou, your sacrifice towards this is immense, the weight you have on your shoulders is immense in proportions and yet you bear it with a discipline of duty and honor that is commendable. I had already relied upon you as my fraccion, since I expected no less from your actions, you have given exceptional service and have so here sworn to do so further. To this I wish you to know that should you have ever be burdened by something troubling your mind, I am here to listen to your troubles. I understand as a shincy you are already different from us and do not bear emotional issues as well...and to that level I am here to listen." she offered her time to him, to hear out any troubles on his mind.

Kou's response to this was something non-verbal and just a deep bow of his head, his face spoke volumes of what he felt...something between extremely touched and surprised. Harribel was glad to see one thing: that the youth could be surprised and not just so expecting as he always seemed to be. She imagined with a mind like his that it was not impossible to expect such things as responses like this from him.

As the dinner continued, there was idle chatter between Mila-Rose and Apache, while Sun-Sun struck up a dialogue with Kousou across the table. It was over tea and how the flavors he had managed to request of Gin-sama were so tasty, something as casual as that could be expected. Harribel listened to her fraccion chat over the delectable foods, while she took it into mind that Kousou was relaxed around those who were so little time ago his enemies.

Harribel descended into minor thought over the boy's adaptability to things: how he managed to grow used to his position shortly, how fast he made friends of her fraccion (of whom one was resentful of him entirely), and how he managed to grow on all three of the women who worked beneath her. It was to say with ease: this was no normal child to do so. Since Apache differed greatly from Sun-Sun and shared little in common with Mila-Rose, for him to connect with all three to the point that each desired time with him? The feat was highly estranged and most certainly nothing normal about it. He had charmed each of them in one way or another.

While Harribel continued her thoughts over Kousou whilst observing the very human-norm for this evening, the thoughts were more than enough to take one's mind on a journey in an effort to understand. However the tres Espada was far more clever and came to a simple solution: that she would chat with Kousou on a more personal level over tea. Sun-Sun had told her that Kousou had an array of teas to choose from, that the scent of the tea was not only sweet but the taste was worthy as well. This plan seemed best, as she wished to understand this craze over one youth that had been brought before to Las Noches.

-Later that evening-

Kousou had been rolling by with things in his mind, what could have been more trying for him other than trying to consider if he could just return to life later...he knew his mother and father would be coming for him soon, there would be no way that they left him to this affair alone for long. He wanted things to work out for Harribel-sama and even the fraccion...how could he could say how he felt about those who had taken advantage of him? He had come to know them and work alongside them in missions, he was a little fond of their presence and didn't look forward to his mother wanting their heads. He knew all too well that his mother would want retribution for all they had stolen from his body by now and taking their lives would be the only thing that she would have, and it wouldn't be enough for her.

_~Kousou...you really want to protect them after what has happened so far? After your suffering as you have, you still would protect them?~ _Kazashiryuu's voice sounding in some concern and annoyance on the fact that he would feel sympathy for those who victimized him.

_-Yes...yes I feel sorry for the fate that my mother and father will exact upon them...I care for them like friends in some way. Kazashiryuu, you must help me protect them.- _his words were as pure as they had been since his capture, his sense as a human being never left him, and be he damned by his compassionate heart so be it._  
_

_~Kousou, I am your Zanpakuto and like it or not...I will assist you with all of the power that I have.~ _she spoke shrewdly about the matter, she knew that he would regret his path. But she had to support his foolishness, lest he be hurt because she was not beside him as much as possible._  
_

_-I need Bankai...and I need it now. I cannot stop my father or mother truly...I am no fool. But if I can stand up to them, there is hope yet.- _his words spoke of his desperation and she knew it then would be a powerful driving force for his growth.

~_Kousou...make no mistake, you might die from this happening so soon, you have grown powerful in a short time, but you know as I do, my full powers and my true form will destroy you.~_ she told what she knew was a fact for Kou.

He had no response to that...for as much as he had learned her Shikai and earned her respect for his fast growth, his power...while her power was most certainly not a match for a spirit as powerful as she. He had manifested her at a young age as well, drawing her out with his kindness and willing heart that was both able and open. He was beyond swear and that left the means for her to form a link with him. The foundation of teamwork they'd had since he learned her Shikai was immense...and to that same goal for justice and compassion.

It seemed that she had accepted his terms...she agreed that after he rested and saw what his day was like tomorrow that if it were not stressful, she would go with him outside and he could attempt to subjugate her. Her powers when in her hands were beyond the small feats that Kousou was capable of and to that she worried. After a short set of his quincy exercises, Kou headed off to rest...he knew that the sleep would be needed since tomorrow was yet another busy day. He was fortunate to avoid being targeted by Aizen for the day since it was going to be another day out in field work.

Kou was going to be following Mila-Rose into territory controlled by a very powerful Vasto Lorde to scout for any potentials that were not attempting their own domination of Hueco Mundo. He had been specifically chosen for the sake of his fast thinking mind by Harribel-sama and he would not fail her, plus he felt safe going with Mila-Rose...despite her oddities, he knew he could count on her support.

The night was young and for once...he had one that was free of any of those who loved to possess his body for the night. Kousou drifted off into a night slumber, unaware of his surroundings or the mysterious eyes watching him from the window. Since his arrival, he had been under surveillance of a strange figure who knew the palace better than those who had constructed it and who it was simply evaded knowledge. The dark shadow once again commented on the sleeping shincy's condition with a small grin.

"Continue to grow young one, surpass your own expectations and live to see the daybreak. As your quest for survival grows more intense you must face it with a will fit for duty of battle...do not give into despair. As we will soon meet, I will need your survival to enact what I wish...stay alive, young Kousou." these worsd spoken before this wraith under the eternal moonlight disappeared once again into the desert silently.

-The arrival of the new day-

With the mission set to begin early in the day, Kou had awakened himself about 3 hours before the mission start so that he might prepare as fully as possible. He went about his usual daily habits of warming up first thing, taking care of his morning bath and daily cleansing rituals, immediately to follow was his quincy regimen that he had been developing over the time he'd been here. He finally had a target at which to aim for, the eternal moon was something he knew that he'd logically never hit...so his target for every shot ever taken had been this magnificent moon.

His training was kept as low as possible so as not to attract any unwanted attention, Kousou managed to sharpen his skills still by controlling and manipulating the shape of his arrows greatly: making them thinner at times line needles, other times making them wide and still retaining their arrow shape. He also used controlling their directions in complex patterns as a form of effort to improve his ability and his power, even going as far as to focusing on weak reishi arrows charged with kido at the tips; in order to increase the speed of the weaker spells of the lower levels.

He focused harder than he usually did as he prepared for his true confrontation with his zanpakuto set for later in the day, all he needed to do was focus on his way through the mission. This was the most important thing in his mind, was retaining his control during the mission the whole time...he knew that since his attention was not sought after last night by either Apache or Mila-Rose, that this mission was prime for Mila-Rose to use it as her time with him.

He hoped to keep her aim on the mission, despite however low those chances were to that...he still wanted things to work out in his favor; could he keep her off of his back maybe? He needed all of his effort to take on the bankai training, this power that he desired that was great within him and within Kazashiryuu. He had to take the challenge up and to wear the mantle as completely as he could. He was...finally realizing some sense of pride with this action? Perhaps...he just might have been.

A soft knock at his door had disturbed his training, after his firing of his next arrow, he stopped and looked back to determine just who it was at the door via his sense. He figured it was Mila-Rose and opened the door, now ready to get on with the day, it would be one of his first difficult missions that he would be facing off with since becoming a fraccion.

"Hey Kou, you ready? It's time to get going." Mila-Rose appeared to be very serious about the job, no longer the typical teasing feline that she was on other days; given that this mission was one she hoped for, a chance to really cut loose on some enemies and a chance to get destructive. It was to say at most a chance to get really loose about built up tensions of another nature, those that one got from constantly dealing with the antagonizing of the higher and lower Espada and their comments.

Mila-Rose instructed him to follow her and stay close, since they were leaving the safety of Harribel-sama's palace and heading into the open of the bigger and far grander halls of Hueco Mundo. She needed this shincy in focus for the task ahead and the chance of course to fend for himself should one of the bigger fish take an interest in his being. There was nothing on the way to saying that ones of Grimmjow's standing or even Nnoitra would not look his way, with his growing powers and standing under a higher membered Espada; it was key territory for him to be made a victim while not under Harribel-sama's watchful eye.

-The Grand Corridor-

As Mila-Rose lead Kou down the main corridor, her sharp eyes were keeping up with the endless pillars while she checked for movement...well why not right? it was always some kind of a twist when trying to keep out of the eye of those who would see you as prey. There was no better way to approach the situation now, just to see that Kou remained out of view of any threats; though facing the facts...most arrancar hated Shinigami, let alone ones like Kou who mimicked a hollow's power so closely.

"Going somewhere small fry?" the words of the Sexta Espada echoing through the hall as he walked towards the two of them, from the other end of the hall he had spotted them effortlessly. One with whom he'd seen often enough and a smaller male, he didn't smell like an arrancar and that alone made him prime pickings from the bored Grimmjow.

As his voice caught her ears, she cursed softly at the luck...why the number 6? He was probably the one who cared least for any tasks that had to be completed by a particular time and running would do no good. She was not worried for her own sake, for she knew it; as intuitively as one large cat to another just who he was after.

While she instructed Kou to keep his pace, it was only a matter of moments before the Sexta Espada had caught them both at the crossroads, where the corridors met several large doors...so close to a clean escape and yet so far from it. In her experience this could not have been worse, but there wasn't much to be expected; eventually it would have happened.

"So your that kid that Aizen-sama unveiled, so where have you been hiding?" his words and eyes directed upon the shincy, who since his original appearance had been hidden away and out of the eyes of the Espada.

Before Mila-Rose could speak, Kou's hand rose and curled around hers to stop her, he would answer before this rather volatile individual did something unexpected; even though he was no psychic...he could easily feel the instability and impatience of the Espada before him.

"I have been currently employed under the services of Harribel-sama and am in her care." a straight-forward answer that got to the point of the cat's words, as playing around was far from necessary.

Grimmjow gave a huff and looked him over, paying close attention to his reiatsu levels, which read as he expected for a fraccion; weak and uninteresting.

"So, I hear your a weakling shinigami and something that humans are that's special right? Or whatever that bullshit is all about, but let me tell you; that doesn't mean shit to me. Your weak and that'd why one of us is watching out for you." the comments meant straight to strike a nerve, some kind of a retaliatory remark from even a wimp; he wasn't whipped into submission like the rest of the fraccion right?

Kou almost wanted to laugh at his response, such meager insults were the best he could do? Well in one way...Kou was proud that such words had little effect on him, he was stable in mind and knew where his power stood versus those surrounding him. He was growing stronger with his practice and training; both by Aizen and Harribel-sama, he had much to consider in his future. But for now he just responded as he normally would.

"Why yes, actually I am considerably weaker when compared to even your most basic fraccion. However I must try my best to pull my own weight, as I am unable to work alone, I was lucky that Mila-Rose-sama was able to watch over me." he knew that the words would do two things: one was to confuse Grimmjow and the other to make him think that he, Kousou, was nothing but a weak-minded sap on top of being a total wimp.

To that effect the words had left the Sexta Espada without words for a moment, before he decided that the kid was nothing but worthless, probably just some wimply hobby that would sooner be destroyed by some accident or even on this mission.

"You're pathetic, go die on your mission, you worm." Grimmjow spat out before turning with a disgusted look on his face, who would so happily admit that they were weak and they needed help?

Kou let off a soft breath and looked back to Mila-Rose, to his surprise, was wearing a look of somewhat confusion and also looked somewhat impressed by his turning Grimmjow away. Though this did not last long as she shook her head and gestured for Kou to follow, they would be long out and on the way towards their task before she decided to say anything else to this young fool, he spoke to an Espada and got what he was wanting; disinterest.

She lead the shincy deep into the white sands of Hueco Mundo, she had to take him this far before she finally felt that something would be done with all that was considered. It seemed that things were looking a little more stable, she could now address Kou on both how foolish and yet how successful that he was.

"Y'know kid, you are something else to speak to Grimmjow like that. You knew that he was going after you didn't you?" she asked him straight out, figuring with a mind like his, that he did.

Kou briefly nodded, the fact remained was that the look in Grimmjow's eyes was the same as hers when she was playing around and messing with him.

"It was an easy thing to see and I also believed that he was simple in what he wanted: conflict. As long as I gave him none, he could not persist. I am fortunate that I was right." his words seemed full of a knowing relief; he had been lucky.

Mila-Rose nodded to him and looked ahead at the multitude of caves ahead, yes this was when it got both interesting and dangerous.

"Now we're gonna check these guys out, this settlement of hollows is either for Aizen-sama's little rule of Hueco Mundo or against it. We'll know as soon as we announce ourselves, be ready Kou. They won't take it any easier on you given your status, being Shinigami is bad enough for you." she said with a laugh, the fact he was half-quincy didn't help his case either.

Mila-Rose hadn't bothered to do more than look at the first of the inhabitants of the cave coming forward, they were some hollows who retained a look of intelligence. Since evolution was normal, the fact that these hollow were not attacking mindlessly meant they had become more civil, it was not impossible to find such things she found.

"Why are you here?" the voice of one of the hollow's was deep and husky, imposing but at this point calm.

"I am here representing Aizen-sama. I am here to ask you where do your loyalty lies? Are you for his rule or do you oppose him?" it was a rather simple question, unlike Sun-Sun she didn't beat around the bush with pleasantries, she got to the point.

There was a moment of quiet for the hollows before some disapproving voices began to raise up in the back, the voices were growing angry that anyone representing _that_ shinigami was near their home at all. They were all starting to get rowdy even, some of them coming around to see the two who dared to come here.

"As you see, our settlement wants nothing to do with a Shinigami and some deluded vision. The fact that you dare to bring one here is rather daring of you." the lead hollow said before gesturing and sending the other hollows back away from them.

The lead hollow gestured for them all to stay back, since he knew they were outmatched by the power of the visitors; he was no fool and sooner in his evolution than the others who would follow instinct and just attack.

As it was Mila-Rose knew they'd be attacked by some of them, even if it wasn't here with these hollows here; every time that she'd done this job hollows who hated Aizen that much always attacked the messengers.

"Well anyway, we'll be on our way." Mila said with a laugh, there was no doubt that this hollow was wise; but his little followers were planning an attack. All too easy to read in such an instance, she gave Kou a look and he nodded. Good he understood her.

As they left together, it was a fair paced walk and relaxed. But why the two were so close was for discussion of how to deal with their attackers. Kou could sense a surprising number of small reiatsu in count, though there were a couple of larger ones and that troubled him. Just a few...but they were potent enough to be an issue he thought.

"Don't sweat so much, if they are really that strong then I'll handle it...and look, try to keep those powers of yours hidden alright? I don't expect you to be using that mask on such wimps, use the growth you've had since before." she said as she gave him a grin.

She expected him to hold his own, he had proven it every day by persevering through his trials every day, and she could admit that he had become stronger in a short time frame. She might just have some fun with him while they were out here, though she knew of her extra set instructions: if there were any real threats then she had permission to release her resurreccion in case of a pinch.

As the two made it out to an open set of dune surroundings she stopped walking and Kou stopped with her, she felt it was about time that these pests dealt with; the crowd would not be living through this one, not a single one of them.

As the first of the hollows made themselves present, coming over the front of the hill Mila-Rose scoffed, did they honestly think numbers was going to determine the outcome of this battle? As she sensed their backs were being blocked off by another few rows of hollows, she found it funny at the fact that these guys were serious.

"You who follow Aizen and spread his message will not be surviving this, can you understand why the fate chases you? This is not the natural way, following a pathetic Shinigami will lead you fools to death. We have come to show you that fact."

The words were the last to be said as the first two hollows attacked from behind, immediately being sliced into two by Kou; who had taken Mila-Rose's back without a question. In a single motion of Sonido, she grabbed the face of another hollow and punched through the face effortlessly and left the body to fade away.

"Anyone else wanna 'show' me the fact?" she asked in a mocking manner.

It was near flawless as practice had been for Kou, his honed training lessons had been brought to life in his responses; as he blocked the larger fist of a hollow with the edge of his blade. Taking advantage of the move, he tore through the flesh of the hollow and angled the blade in an upward direction; pushing through with his reiatsu and cleaving the mask violently across the angle. Using a flash step to avoid the whipping of an armored tail. This wasn't too bad he found, even with their numbers they were disorganized and not moving well together.

"Bakudo#9: Horin(Disintegrating Circle)!" Quickly making use of his kido knowledge and a single flash step to encircle the three hollows that were trying to assault him and used the spell to hold them steady.

With those three binded, he turned and dodged a sweeping fist and thrust his zanpakuto into the face of the other attacking hollow; parting the mask with ease at the blow. Turning in time to deal with the three hollows before they broke the low level binding-spell, his hand rose as he chanted quickly to get this done; he had more hollows to turn to.

_"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws._ Hado#33: Sokatsui(Blue fire, Crash down)!_" _as soon as the chant was finished, Kou released a wider radius Blue fire blast of kido which hit the three with harsh results; given that kido was one his better suits it had better effects.

He was glad to see that he had finished them, though a sharp pain in his back brought him down from that sense of completion. Though he recovered, the higher level of reiatsu that caused the air around him to tremble let him know just what kind of enemy he was dealing. At some point...an adjuchas or two had gotten involved in this matter.

Kou looked at the adjuchas who was laughing at him, licking its teeth while it moved closer to the shincy. Plans of devouring this youth for his power was obvious and shining in its eyes, he had no choice now but to up the stakes and defeat this creature.

"Your friend is already being taken care of...we had been hoping for some action, since those wimpy hollows begged us to defend them. They weren't even worth eating they were so pathetic." his last step brought him right before the shinigami, who's reiatsu smelled sweet but from what he sensed was no problem for one of his level.

"And you think I'm on the menu? Sorry, but I've no intention of becoming a meal." Kou said plainly, preparing in that moment to release his shikai; just as soon as this moron proved him right, he had a feeling this hollow was proud of its strength and probably even speed for his side. Kou already had the advantage from what he saw: he was being severely underestimated.

The adjuchas laughed at him, very hard, at the comment he made about 'not intending'. Did this child expect to survive this battle? He was going to squish him first and then take the time devouring him for his power.

"You are strong for an academy graduate, but your nothing before me. You can plan to survive all you wish, but you are playing with an adjuchas child. I will show you what it means." he said boldly before disappearing in an instant.

Kou watched him with carefully trained eyes, he was going to take the adjuchas by nothing but surprise. As the mighty beast appeared in front of him, Kou snapped both his reiatsu and the release of his zanpakuto suddenly when the adjuchas was upon him.

"Slash with the four winds, Kazashiryuu!" as soon as the adjuchas had widened its eyes, the feeling of incredible reiatsu surging suddenly from near squad member to something grander; this child was as strong as a lieutenant!

There was only a roar of pain as Kou finished his attack and turned to face his enemy, with the Chokuto held firmly in both hands before him in the typical kendo stance; just the way his father trained him. He had taken the adjuchas's left arm and tore a great chunk from its inner right leg as well. He hadn't been sure when he stricken the blows in one clean motion.

"Y-you...deceived me child! You-" his words were silenced as Kou sliced the adjuchas down the midsection and in a brutal manner had put an end to the powerful hollow.

Kou had become more cruel he felt, something colder in his veins and it frightened him. He almost shook from his combat mode until an inner voice scolded him.

_**'Idiot! Get it together alright? That was me giving you a hollow edge, just keep going alright? We've got a battle going on, don't you dare fall apart on me now!' **_

Kou didn't answer Yami-kou, though considered the words and moved towards Mila-Rose's position. The large hollow he had finished did mention that there were more than 2 of his 'friends' dealing with her...how many did that entail? They obviously saw her as the greater threat and focused on her with larger numbers. As he rushed towards her position he kept focus, since he wasn't even scratched and virtually capable of much, he felt that the mission could at least end smoothly.

-With Mila-Rose-

As suspicions were correct, Mila-Rose was surprised by the number of the adjuchas and for the moment she was being held down and beaten on as four held her down. Though the weak punches were just annoying her, these weaklings thought they had her? What a true joke! She was biding her time as the biggest of the adjuchas landed yet another weak blow on her hierro. Most certainly she _felt _the blows landing and her lip was bleeding slightly, but she was letting them think that they were in control.

"So how do you feel now captive? You _were_ one of Aizen's messengers and now you are nothing! You are a punching bag for my fists, maybe soon to be a toy for us before we devour yo-" the words were bold and immediately ended; as the adjuchas lost his head.

A single flash of power, Kou's appearance and heavy pressure could be felt in the near area, no words could be put or taken from the matter at hand it seemed. The gathering of hollows was stunned and Mila-Rose was annoyed at the whole matter; she would show them true power...just before she put them to oblivion.

"Now that I am through playing, I will show you one thing before you all meet oblivion." she said as her body gaining a shade of light orange flair as her reiatsu surged violently as the white sands shot up around her. A heavy gathering of reiatsu from Mila had been what made Kou shield his eyes, he could stand the power but not the sand whipping around her.

Mila's mind was set on one thing: teaching these adjuchas about real strength before she took Kou back to Las Noches.

"Devour, Leona!" the reiatsu swirled harshly and sent the torrent of sand towards the heavens, raising in the reaction to her great power.

Her transformation was swift and the vibrant sheen of her reiatsu began to die down finally; the dust and smoke from the falling sand had cleared to reveal her transformation. To which no words from Kou could describe his awe...unlike Apache, who had controlled the levels and kept them lower, this true form was as Kousou expected: a dominant power that easily surpassed his own.

As Kou's eyes fell upon her changed body, all he could do was flush all shades of red...even having seen her bare and in the nude; she was a marvel of her own kind of perfection. The way the armor accented her skin and the harshness of power...he could feel her reiatsu burning on the air and _felt_ her every intention of killing the adjuchas before her. It was over before a breath could be taken into his lungs: his eyes followed the bloody swathe she cut through the hollows.

Like watching slow-motion in an action movie, Kou's eyes played her blade slipping the first of the adjuchas: sliding from the right side through his neck and then dragging down at an adjacent angle through his flesh. The blade easily tore through the hollow's flesh and bit into the side of his comrade who was moving far too slow to stop her. As the larger adjuchas threw a punch, his midsection was already cleaved in two, and in a swift motion of almost-too-fast speeds; Mila's sword was already parting the face of the third of these lumbering giants. Her sonido was flawless...the movements were skillful and flawless in terms of swordplay. Kou could keep up with his eyes...but to match such strength he would need his mask; Kou's mind rolled over what power he felt and how fast she moved. It might just be enough with the mask to keep her contained without destroying anything vital...or so he hoped, the theories fleeting through the mind of the young Yuushin were put to an end suddenly.

Mila was suddenly there in front of him, holding her left palm up as she gathered the energies for a cero, she turned to him and spoke with a grin.

"What do you think of it Kou? Do you like the feeling of that power? It's what will protect you...at my whim, it will keep you safe because I say so." her words were stated in play, but in a way were also slating it as law.

His skin crawled as he looked at her, it wasn't in a bad way or fear...but the way of just knowing...a knowledge that every word was true and she would do it. The cero was a beautiful orange shade and attracted Kou's vision, he watched the little orb growing in size as he looked on; in awe of the power that she held in that hand. As the remaining hollows tried to gather something of a cero to defend against this, her blast fired with a lethal brutality that was in a way her legacy.

Her cero's potency was clear to view as her blast _erased_ not only the dead corpses of those adjuchas, but also the ones who tried to defend themselves, the sand around them, and even the dune they had come over. Kou could sense that it wasn't at its full destructive power, it was mildly charged for her amusement and the destruction it caused was something she reveled in. The mission was over and she had dealt with any traitors that opposed Aizen's rule, there was no need for her to waste another thought on them.

"Well that's that Kou, nice job defending yourself out there, it all paid off...your training." she said with a little grin, watching the shincy turn and deactivate his shikai; he was truly naive to think it would end like this.

Kou looked around and sighed at the damage, well the lost lives would be reincarnated...at the very least those he had destroyed would be. His mind was on the thoughts of Karakura town and how it was to be destroyed; for that moment he was focused and just seemed to be sad about the whole matter. He never sensed Mila's step at his back nor her approach rapidly closing in on him.

"Well I suppose we should head bac-" those words quickly cut off by an arm wrapping around his midsection from behind. His ears twitching with the sound of a purring laugh as he felt Mila's very feminine but muscular form leaning into his back's curve.

Her second arm slipped around his side and began to undo the high collar he wore, didn't she know _why_ he wore it so high? So she wouldn't be tempted on the mission today...though her working hand and the lick along his ear that made him shiver; it told him what she was planning.

"We are heading back _after_ I have my reward for a mission well done from you. Lest you forgot I destroyed the main force and that...my dear shincy counts for whatever I say. I am the one in charge out here and you are mine to command as well...so I'd worry about one thing: staying conscious while we have this fun." she cooed into his ear, the semi-true threat of the kind of force she'd be using with him today.

He had no illusions about roughness since Apache made it a habit whenever she had him, but to hear it coming from her, this meant he would _have_ to use his reiatsu to strengthen his body. That or have a badly damaged body and slow his training, which was not a chance he was willing to take. The near future demanded that he grow stronger, even faster than he was right now.

She laid him down upon the sand and sat herself right on his lap, looking at him with a smirk as she led her sharp fangs along his neck, growling and purring as she looked at him with a more naturally needy look. Her more powerful leg seemed to be asking for more from this boy because she wasn't wanting to hold back. Her hands rubbing along his shoulders while she made him look at her, just before licking his lips and kissing him firmly while rubbing his body over carefully: purely giving him the opportunity to use of his reiatsu to survive the strength she held.

(-Mature Content ahead-)

She wasn't going to give him more than a few moments at best, she didn't like the fact that he was still in some awe, so she pressed him on the matter. Didn't he get how serious she was right now? There wasn't a word to put in short that said she was in any other less of a state, she was getting hotter and desired his body more with the passage of time.

"You watched my back today Kousou...I will thank you as I take my prize, you will enjoy yourself...do you understand?" she said with a murr before rising from his lap, for the sole purpose of removing her armored thong slowly, setting it down at their side before her foot pressed down right on his groin; it wasn't hard to feel that he was excited and it was what she expected. Her foot moved up to his waist and untied the hakama's end before she lowered it slowly, leaving enough room to free his manhood.

Her heated netherlips were in need of him and the chance to feel his length within her made her decide it was time. This need was something carnal rather than primal..she desired the boy for his body and even his responses, he was hers and there was no other word she'd consider in her mind. It was enough for him to be so easy to tame, but at the same time troublesome since he seemed to allow these 'changes' that had been forced upon him to remain; was he ever not so malleable? She almost wondered about him from time to time, plus the fact he responded during their sessions together. She liked that in this foolish boy.

She took the young boy into her with a single move, holding his shoulder and grinning as she murred, feeling his length parting her lips and resting inside of her vibrant tunnel. She took only a moment to enjoy the feeling of being filled by his manhood, groping along his shoulder while she looked at his face, her strength now being carefully observed as she pushed him to hilt. She forced him to grunt and slid him further within her heat, taking him to the base and grinding down at the end of his tight length; though if he thought it was tight now he knew nothing as she was just getting started.

Indeed Kou didn't know anything as to the fact that she started off rather rough, forcing him to draw and evenly distribute more reiatsu throughout his body to prevent her from bruising him too badly. His thoughts didn't seem to matter at all, the way she focused on him and pumped her hips downward, forcing his length into her at a forward angle; her walls clenching as she humped him with growing intensity.

"Ah...s-slow..." the words escaping Kou's mouth as his breath was stolen away from him by another powerful thrust of her hips, the force enough to push his hips deeper into the sand as she grinded down on his length whenever she hilted him.

There was a small laugh that escaped her lips as she panted, having mounted him like a proud lioness, her skin slowly beading with sweat as her beautiful nubian body remained tall and powerful. As she expected from Kousou, his hands took a hold of her waist and slid down to her hips as she rocked above his shaft deeply within her, holding him with a tight and uniform grip of constantly shifting muscles; carrying him with a torture-styled pulse through his shaft as he panted and cried out to her. His voice was like a golden glitter, he showed such feeling as it was a response from him.

Any words he further uttered were ignored by the lioness, as she fell into the savageness of the mood, feeling the rough sand across her legs each time she pounded into his lap; every time she forced his maleness back into her with even more fluid grace than the speed she was moving at should be capable of...it seemed that she could not be sated this way. Her grunting and soft breathy cries were contained by the harsh kiss she had forced him into; now controlling him entirely while she pushed down on him once again, her fingers gliding over his smooth skin while her hips worked with growing need.

How did you force someone of his level to work harder? She felt that holding him flat just might do it, and suddenly as she broke the kiss did his shoulders hit the ground. Where she began to furiously grate her hips into his with a defining need, it seemed that there was no end to her need for his body; as her orange reiatsu burned along her skin...it seared into him harshly and forced a reaction she'd hoped for out of his body.

There as he was able to whimper into her lips was like a delicious tasty fear that she had yearned to sample from him and took with a lively nibble of his flesh. Yes...she devoured his lips while her lower lips devoured the very maleness of his body; it was hard to sate a hungry lioness with such a beastly appetite. Though a sudden surge of his reiatsu and the heat within her body changed that. Even though his face grew no mask, his eyes had changed, the very pale whites become a subtle coal black and his eyes darkening in the heat of the surging amber-yellow hues that looked at her for a moment. His reiatsu grew denser and hardened him further, toughening up his body for her ride while she harshly rode out her ever consuming climax that chased her fast...faster than even she could move.

The light hit her from the inside as she kept him hilted and wildly grinded into his waist, squeezing his hip with her left leg tightly as she felt the surge of heat within him growing to a level beyond her control. She gave one final cry, as her raging sea spiked...and the explosion hit her. Finally her heat had felt his essence and her seething honey surged around him and flooded his groin as she squeezed him...all over, with her entire body.

For a moment it came into question whether her hold on him would ever end...though it had only taken about fifteen minutes before she came down from her high. A soft purring laugh coming from her as she looked into those fading eyes as Kou fainted. unable to comprehend what had happened...or even the pleasure that he never should have touched and yet had.

(-End of Mature Content-)

Mila-Rose didn't want to waste time with Kou in this state, he was helpless and looked like he did: a weak shinigami...though some odd about him allowed him to weather all of the tough moments before his path.

"Not bad kid...heh you just might survive this." she said as she used some of those cloths in his healing kit (which she thought was useless, but found a use for now) to clean him up and herself before re-dressing. She'd bathe with him before letting him free of her tonight.

The trip back in her released form was simple: only taking 7 minutes, where as earlier it took around 20 minutes to get their location originally. She took the time and chance to seal her resurreccion once more and sneak into his room from the side pillar; the report could wait...since she made them take much longer, she'd put him to sleep first and then report to Harribel-sama. She'd say that Kou was unable to make the report himself since he fainted, he used more power than she herself thought he was going to (which she knew was telling the truth, even if it was for different reasons) while away. But the mission was complete and there was no damage done to either of them.

The bath was quick and just enough to get them both clean, this just before she put him to bed and rubbed the top of his hair...that silken hair that she liked grabbing while she had him. He was so weak before her might and yet, he challenged her regularly with his mind and his wit. He was worthy prey to constantly chase down. After this time with him she made it official and had so marked him with a fierce bite on his neck; it was mostly clear, but left a hint of her reiatsu mark on him.

Much like Apache had now...she had left her mark as well and this meant quite a lot, as these two bizarre relations continued in a strange harmony that only the fraccion seemed to have in sync still; whether Kou could maintain holding his sense of self would be left to the test of time. As one more day passed with the sleeping shincy's mind and body attempting to recover from the madness, it was simply a question now of whether he could truly survive or whether he would fold under the pressure of life in Hueco Mundo...time would tell indeed.

(End Chapter)

This has finally come to an end, as the longest chapter I ever wrote! Heh for any story, it seems that I cast a bit of favor on Bleach, what may happen next? Wait and see!

Till the next time, Adieu

-Quentix


	9. Chapter: Intrigue of a Shark Empress

Disclaimer: In case any of you forgot, I don't own Bleach and have no plans to make false claims.

(End Disclaimer)

A/N: It's been a long time, but here it is finally! The next page in an ever going history, what happens this chapter and how will Kousou proceed as things take a turn for the worse? Only the chapter will tell, now without further adieu here we go!

(End A/N)

Chapter VIII: A Shark Empress's intrigue

The mission was a failure as far as finding a Vasto Lorde, but they had successfully returned and the gauge of his improvements while under Harribel's watch. The information was very interesting, as noting the level of care he had for those fellow fraccion he was assigned to work with and the kind of kinship that he'd built; Aizen did not let the slightest bit of information escape him. As it were the boy's growth was what had him impressive; as a human child who was thrust into this not too long ago, he was holding up well. There seemed to be a lack of reasoning as to how or why, had he just conformed and given himself over to the fate of his standing? Aizen was looking for that reasoning and had continued to let him live the way he was. While today was another hard-knocks lesson, it would be to see if he was capable of; how much more had he grown over the course of a few weeks.

"Gah!" as the pain shuddered through his body, Kou bounced along the ground and forced himself to regain control of his body; twisting in midair and blocked the slice aimed for his midsection, though the kick was enough to shoot him into the ground again.

Feeling the foot on his chest, he knew that he could not have the battle ending like this; he had grown much more than this! As he redoubled his efforts, his navy reiatsu shot off of his body, rising in a spiral around his body as he dipped into some of his reserves; using the stamina he'd gained under the intensity of his combat thus far. The moment he'd give up would be the moment that he'd be in for a hell of a stamping; Apache wouldn't stand to hear that he didn't make any gains in his combat against Gin. Since he'd arrived he'd been trained both by Aizen's commanders: Ichimaru Gin and Kaname Tousen. This combined with the regular sparring and combat that he'd undertaken with Apache and Mila-Rose had added to his growth; this would be the place to prove it.

With some minor interest in his improvements, Gin stepped back and deflected his attempt at a thrust, while shifting his hand with little effort to block an attempted slash. He noted the boy's style was certainly an older style of Zanjutsu, not practiced by younger Shinigami. It was one of those nostalgic things, but of little consequence since it didn't help him so much now.

"So that's it? Come on boy, show me what your hiding." He said with the kitsune grin still fresh on his face, as he avoided another thrust. The sealed form of his zanpakuto was hardly a challenge, he threw him back and swept his blade towards his neck; going for obvious killing blows so that Kou would be forced to work much harder.

The swordplay continued as Kou attempted to hold his own, before trying to take the offensive with a timely release of his shikai. Unlike his other times, Kou didn't attempt to blind Gin with the wind or give some showy transformation; a simple thrust towards Gin's midsection while he gave a sudden release of power to increase his strength and casually side-stepped. Kou had no illusions as he was fighting the previous Third Squad Taicho; simply to say that he had no chance was an understatement.

To match Kou's increase of strength, Gin took a moment to release a much heavier pressure on the boy. Something to unnerve him while he casually blocked the Chokuto and the fancy spin slashes attempted by the skilled lad; as their swords met once more he took the offense in that moment.

"Shinsou." At the mere mention of its name, the zanpakuto shot outward and effortlessly shot Kou back into the far wall; showing the superiority of Gin's shikai when released against one of weaker significance. He waited for a moment, just holding the blade forward and pinning him there, to see just what Kou had in mind to try and resist the attempt on his life.

It fell to the same things, every time he was pressed he depended upon his hollow powers, though not dependence as much as it was a necessity to break the hold. He was not just a Shinigami; he was part hollow and felt as one. His power unified at will and ignited as a sign of his resolution, as the navy turned darker and outlined in gold as his pressure seemed to even out the amount of force against him; he shoved Gin's blade away and looked at him with a concentrated look in his eyes.

Switching stance from the standard form, Kou switched to a more obscure form of attack; holding his chokuto off to the side, holding the ornamental handle with a sturdy grip and sweeping up adjacently to meet Gin's standing overhead slash. As Kou broke left and used shunpo to sweep pass Gin's right, he reappeared with a part of his sleeve in hand. Before tossing it down and moving onto the attack with a powerful thrust. While the gesture of the attack was subtle, it still held meaning, as through the use of some general physic principle he created more thrust by pulling on the handle somewhat with his right hand and pushing forward with his left; adding force to the thrust.

A resounding crash of the blades could be heard throughout the battle hall and to Gin's amusement, the change in technique made Kou that much better. While Kou was starting to feel the pressure building on him from trying to keep up this rather powerful effort; Aizen's word stopped the battle.

"An interesting technique Kou-kun, you appear to have grown very much despite the short passage of time. I am impressed with your growth and so you may return until I need you again." The words were full of something that scared Kou senseless.

"As you wish Aizen-sama." He offered him a gentle sweep of his shoulder in a bow, before turning to leave while maintaining his composure.

Everything was so sudden, but it wasn't something that Gin would question. As there was no point to it, Aizen let the kid go and though it was sudden; he knew that there was a reason. Some other kind of plan, perhaps some other situation to force Kou to expose the depths of his growth; it made one wonder was there ever any true rest for the living experiment he'd been under? It was no way to live and yet Kou managed to make it home, serving his captor and with little complaints.

What could the plan have been? Kou wondered what lay before him and just how hard he'd be fighting for his life. There was no conception of an idea in his head, all he knew now was the fear of having one of the most powerful beings he'd ever sensed interested in his lowly life form for once reason or another. Such a case was truly baffling to the shincy.

As he dragged himself back towards the fraccion quarters for some rest, he heard a voice at his back; it's not every day that one like him would expect to survive this long even now. Words had him stop in his pace, the reiatsu he felt wasn't very normal, he wasn't sure just what it was that he was sensing.

"So, you're the new guy here, the word gets around fast. You're the new fraccion who's not one of us…is that so? You feel like one of us with something just different though." The voice coming from someone he'd never heard, it was what they called a Privaron Espada, this had been one he recognized on a list that he'd seen at one point as Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio; listed as a male and number 103.

At first Kou didn't have much to say, but offered something of a subdued hello, offering decent responses to the general conversation, his standing was still confused since he couldn't grasp how he was some kind of a concept worthy of talking about.

After some minutes of answering Dordonii's questions, he offered him a soft nod and then looked to end the conversation. He was really tired from his battle with Gin, even though it was all an exercise, fighting or even sparring with a captain-level shinigami was brutal on him no matter what.

"So you've been under Aizen-sama's direct instruction or at the very least you are a favorite of his. What a curious factor in your life, for you Niño I wish you luck as your position is most tenuous." Dordonii understood the position and was not at all envious.

As Dordonii left Kou, the youth let off a sigh of relief since it was just a healthy conversation that was kept careful and in that fact not at all too far off. He stepped down the hall at a quickened pace, feeling a pressure that had given him trouble earlier before the mission. The Sexta Espada was nearby and nearing his location, he could feel the fear in his bones. It was something that he'd learned to do in good mind, let a fear hit his bones, but not to lose his composure now. So for now he fled quickly, racing while keeping his spiritual pressure in its relaxed state, carefully under the scale of the Sexta Espada's sharp senses. For safety was important, foolish actions would only get him hurt and cause trouble; which he had no intention of causing for either his partners or his leader…how strange it was for him to hear his mind conforming to his position.

"If it ain't the small fry again." The words immediately stopped Kou in his tracks, as the Blue haired feline stepped off to the side, hands in his pockets with a big smirk on his face.

Kou immediately thought about how he'd be one to deal with this, just needing to keep calm and if he had to, defend himself.

"Cat got your tongue runt? Trying to hurry back to your master eh? It's pathetic to see a male of any kind kneeling before a woman." He spat the words out, trying to hit something from the boy's pride. Everyone had some kind of thing that set them off; he wanted to get a rise out of him to really test him.

Kou didn't him that chance and quickly reacted.

"That would be for someone who had a future and a vision Grimmjow-sama, this is not something for a mere fraccion to have. Our fields of vision are limited to what is directly in front of us…namely our duty. Gender not withstanding even in that light." He said once more, in a light that confounded Grimmjow.

The cat growled at him, as he started walking back down the hall and was heading off again. Another smart-assed answer, he sure had a mouth on him didn't he? Appearing before him Kou again with a wide sweeping fist, having had enough of trying to provoke him with words he stepped it up. It was gonna be physical if that's what it took.

Kou brought both arms up just in time to block the shot; though it shot him back into the edge of a pillar, he took it far better than he'd thought. He knew that Grimmjow wasn't going to react in any other method short of that.

"Now _that_ proves that you're stronger than some damn fraccion, stupid brat…did you think you could keep it from me? You Shinigami are something else, trying to hide power from me. I will test this great strength of yours for my own amusement, let's do this." Grimmjow was already in motion and sweeping his fist again at Kou.

With just enough time to act, Kou grabbed Grimmjow's arm and casually tossed him towards the wall, letting his momentum carry him right into it. The crash sent stone spreading widely from the pillar into all directions, while Kou drew his zanpakuto and met Grimmjow's fist again; this time with the force of the punch.

The Sexta Espada was grinning at the fact he stopped his punch, though this level was nothing to be surprised at, he wanted more. Grimmjow's punches grew in intensity as he attempted to pummel the fraccion-ranked shinigami before him. As he expected, his level of punches were either parried or avoided, the kid was fast. He knew this from earlier as well; this wasn't so surprising to him.

Kou simply defended and was pushing the fight down the hall, retreating towards Harribel-sama's palace. The closer he got, the more he knew he'd be safer without having to reveal anymore power. He showed enough to survive, but he was still quite weakened from his bout with Gin. He feared revealing that mask of his; this would only push Grimmjow to force more out of him. Sensing the familiar pressure of his commanding Espada; he felt safer on his retreat.

Grimmjow saw right through the plan and stopped him with the simple use of Bala, firing one past his head as a warning. Meeting the kid once more in a midpoint, it seemed his attack did it and made him grin.

"Aren't you something else eh kid? Still breathing after a few passes with me, there's no way you're a fraccion's level. I know that you are tougher that, you can't fool me! You'd better start battling harder or I'll simply force it out of you." He said with a grin, following that with an annoyed hiss. Expecting much more out of a runt of his capacity, he would have it or force it out of him.

The footfall resounding through the hall had sent a feeling of relief as Kou blocked another blow from Grimmjow, before hearing the calm voice of Harribel-sama speaking.

"And you are doing what to my fraccion, Grimmjow?" her eyes focused on the cat as he stopped the next attack, her presence bringing Kou some slight comfort.

However fighting with someone who outranked him so casually wasn't his idea of combat. The reaction was just typical of Grimmjow and thus nothing complicated.

"Testing his skill for improvement, you'll be happy to know is that he stronger." He didn't say stronger than what, it was just an excuse. Since really he could have cared less of what her reaction was.

Kou had long since sheathed his zanpakuto and stepped to Harribel's side, there was no need to press the issue. Count your blessings and move on, that was Kou's mindset.

"I see…in the future understand that I will be the one to test my fraccion in any of their improvements. Your assistance is not necessary, thank you Grimmjow." She said as she offered him a nod, looking to Kou and with a glance told him just what to do.

He walked ahead of her, holding his composure while heading back to the fraccion main quarters. Breathing easier for the fact of how lucky he was to have Harribel-sama come to his aid. She kept his real power a secret and his body safe from harm through her actions. He wasn't aware of anything until she spoke, which snapped him to her attention.

"Kousou…that was dangerous, you were fortunate that I happened to sense your activities. I would like you to be more careful when you are moving in between our quarters and Aizen-sama's region of Las Noches. You are an easy target for those like Grimmjow and Nnoitra, who would sooner provoke you into action. You are sensible enough in mind, but that will not serve you against those who lack understanding of general reasoning skills." Her words were to the kind but pointed out the fact; he needed to be more careful.

He acknowledged her concerns and gave a polite answer of how he intended to follow her wishes. For his own safety sake, though as he noted at the very least he was becoming her true fraccion. He was fitting in and bonding with his fellow fraccion, following her words with respect, and her doting kindness with his devotion to duty. But it wasn't an answer and frankly it all confused her.

Logically he had explained why he responded the way he did and even why he accepted his fate as it was. But she knew better, given the keen mind that she knew Kou to have. He was very smart and always responded to her questions or words with something she'd expect from someone with a sharp wit. She realized that she wanted to know more from this boy, he was nothing like a typical man that she'd known; he held no arrogance to his demeanor and respected her authority.

He revered her and she was not for his reasons why, it was to say that she'd never met any male, especially one of his age who did not have the many things wrong that any male would. Her fraccion were no doubt taken with him in some ways, she'd seen the reactions of Mila-Rose and Apache over Kou. When it came to as a subject, Apache was very defensive and tried to protect him. He did have her interest, he was like an open book in ways, but he kept to himself about so many things. She did wish to know just what it was about the young shincy, what was it that made him so different?

"Kousou, I would ask of your company later this evening." She requested some of his time, knowing he'd say yes. A simple request was not something that he would refuse her, his manners were impeccable.

"Of course Harribel-sama, I will see you later this evening then." He said with a light bow of his shoulder.

As they arrived at the fraccion main hall, Harribel spoke a single string of words. Something that made Kou wonder why she chose the wording she did.

"I would like to see that part of you that is tucked away." These words spoken before she walked away.

As he retreated to his room to rest, he considered what she meant by that. He knew better than to underestimate the Tres Espada, Tia Harribel…whose mind was perceptive as they came. She was sharp witted, picked up on subtle hints of actions and reasoning for them, and was not fooled easily. Even though he spoke no lies, this was proof enough to see that she knew he was holding parts of himself back.

"A truly frightening leader that I've got." He commented this to himself, nodding at her powers of observation being top-notch.

He prepared a cup of tea and went to settle into bed for some rest, with a cup of calming tea and a nap he'd be fine come the evening. He wondered by now why he hadn't seen either Apache or Mila-Rose. Usually they would be all over him, not letting him rest and giving him attentions that he attributed to some form of bizarre affection.

_~Kousou, it will be time soon…you must face me and earn your Bankai. If you will survive long enough here, you must secure this final portion of my power. Can you understand that?~ _the words of Kazashiryuu whispering into his mind as he sipped his tea.

~And that is just my plan Kazashiryuu, I will subjugate your materialized form…though we have only sparred in the past it will not be the same this time. I will hold nothing back and I will have gained your help; allow me to put my faith in your power.~ His words spoken of nothing but pure belief.

He took all of those things before him as a sign of fate and one fact remained: He needed to earn his Bankai. His strength had grown a fair amount since he'd been here, yet it made little difference in his resulting meetings with Aizen's tests, his mock battles with Tousen and Gin had resulted only in him getting hurt. He needed only to defeat Kazashiryuu, something he could do with focus in his heart.

As Kou set his tea aside and settled into the bed, his mind relaxed with some peace of mind. After all the night ahead was just a quiet evening ahead with Harribel-sama. Likely to be full of talking and some discussion of his life, he felt that it would be no different than the dinner discussion that he shared with her with the other fraccion. While her words earlier puzzled him, he would be nothing short of truthful with her later on.

-Several Hours later, in front of Harribel's chamber doors—

Having rested up now, Kou waited outside of her chambers, dressed in a compliment of his quincy attire and a shinigami kimono, he represented both of his lineages in his attire this evening. A Quincy top and cape with a soft white kimono with a black shinigami sash; it was a surprisingly effective look at making him appear almost regal given his position. He decided that he would show her just what she asked, the side of him that he kept away from all others here. He felt that she might deserve that, she requested him to be more relaxed than he had been earlier on.

"Well here I go…" he whispered before knocking on the large doors, simply sure of one thing and that was the kind of events that might happen. It would probably end with dinner and maybe some chatting about how far he'd come along.

The doors opened as Harribel greeted him, nodding to his presence and gesturing for him to come in. She had dinner made before he'd arrived and invited him to sit with a hand gesture.

Once both were seated, she proceeded with the pleasantries.

"It is good to see you well rested Kou, you look less strained compared to earlier." It was the fact that he was the most fragile of all of her fraccion that she monitored him so closely.

He nodded to her mention of his looking better, he recovered much quicker since letting his reiatsu mix up, his hollow reiatsu had made his body a little more resilient to damage.

"Yes, the rest did me well after the sparring with Gin-sama today, I was lucky to find myself still walking." He said with a small chuckle, after all such threatening level of strength pressuring him today; he had shown the ability of adaptation of decent growth.

She nodded again and proceeded to take a few bites of food, to let him know it was fine to eat. This was casual as far as it went for a dinner and not meant for him to be uptight, she hoped he might loosen up as the dinner continued.

She asked him casually about his training and listened to those methods of which he chose to train on. He came clear about focusing on his precision and accuracy with his reiryoku control; it was his best focus and the thing that was likely his best power when concerning his quincy ability. His shinigami powers were easier to speak of since he generally focused on the thought of gaining a deeper understanding of his partner while wielding every aspect of skill he could possibly.

As she thought he was best suited to learning newer abilities and skills, his strength was best in the learning curve and he worked diligently to increase his strength through old-fashioned hard work. He was good fraccion, he tried to account for the simple fact that he was not an arrancar, something out of his hands. As she heard him speak she was touched somewhat by what he was willing to sacrifice to keep up with the ladies, what he gave to be useful…it was all so odd for a captive to do any of this.

"Kousou, you are a very strange human child…despite your position, you have made yourself at home here and work hard to succeed while here. You have not only done as you've been told, you have gone beyond the general call of duty; having bonded with Sun-Sun, Mila Rose, and Apache. I know no words to describe the kind of sacrifice that you have made, something that I understand very well. In order to keep hope in your life and to allow things to run smoothly for you, you have given up your freedoms and bear the weight of the situation dutifully." Her words were full of something, perhaps admiration of how well he bared it.

It was enough to make him blush, since he never really thought so deeply about it. He was doing what he had to do to make it, he was just taking pride and deciding to make this an experience for himself to learn in; he felt there being no need to making it a weight to bear. Strain would only do him worse if that was how he thought of it.

He was quiet a moment as he thought of a way to respond to her kind words, being complimented by one's superior was a large honor. To think that she thought so highly of him made him relive the crush he'd developed on her since he started working under her. Perhaps this too is what made it easy for him to shoulder such responsibilities, a crush which came from the dignity with which she bore, her demeanor and manners, but most of all a caring heart for her subordinates. Though he felt it was nothing more than that, he felt it come back to life due to her compliments.

"Harribel-sama, I can think of no words that can best describe how I feel at the moment…so I will leave it to one set of words used in such an event. Thank you for your compliments and kind words, I am touched deeply by your respect of me." His face was still red and his eyes in her direction, though he found he could not set his eyes on her; for she was too regal for his eyes alone. He felt humbled by the fact she gazed at him so intently.

She absorbed each of his reactions, though she wondered about his blush for the moment. Such things were a response to embarrassment, modesty, or shame and she attributed that to modesty. Though it hadn't covered for the fact that he was unable to meet her gaze, she wasn't quite sure why.

She decided to let it go; since there was no point in pushing anything further, she was sure he had his reasons. What she was glad for his coming totally honest with her today, it had been a very enjoyable dinner and she admitted his company was as enjoyable as Sun-Sun's.

"You are good company Kousou, I may seek out you now that I have found this to be the case." She was alerting him to the fact that she would more often seek out his presence, since he was a good listener.

He nodded gently and finally felt the blush lightening up, his little school-boy crush had no place here. As it were he was already doing things that he never dreamed of doing, like already having sex at his age, with three arrancar women. Whenever he actually thought about it, the whole thing seemed impossible, just as much as it was unlikely. Of all people, the prudish shincy should not only be the forced one in the situation; but he was now the general relief for the crabbiest of the three, a plaything for the second, and a convenience to be manipulated into situations of that kind by the third.

It was all very odd, but nothing he could put his hand on really. He'd taken a thrashing from two of them in their release forms; forced to endure the 'true' form of the women. Despite all of this that had occurred, he did not resent them any more or less than might thought. He attributed this to Yami's doing or perhaps his own mental capacity of never wanting to hate someone that pressed him along so far.

"Thank you Harribel-sama, I will be all too happy to keep you company." He said finally in response to this whole thing.

As he rose from his seat to go, he felt her hand move to his shoulder to gently stop him. Did he leave something at the table? As he turned to face her, the look in her eyes was something knowing and he at that point knew just what was on her mind: she'd found the reason for his blush.

"I think I see why you were blushing earlier Kousou, you appear to be fond of me, is this correct?" her words were devoid of emotion, stating a simple fact calmly and just.

He gave a gentle nod, not trusting his voice at this point. Her touch was gentle and surprisingly warm.

"You have the equivalent of a crush on me then, that is flattering Kousou, but should you not save such feelings for someone who is not your enemy?" her words were one of a light question; why not preserve such feelings for some nice human girl?

He gave her a gentle chuckle; it wasn't really his option to decide who he liked. He'd had a crush on Sun-Sun that developed into the awkward situation they were in the present due to it.

"Harribel-sama, you are not my enemy…you are someone special, whose morals and way of carrying yourself have impressed upon me in a golden glow. I feel nothing short of admiration and that has become the foundation of my crush. Even if I could harbor such feelings for another by choice; I doubt I would find one person so special as I believe you are." A long-winded speech, he was never one to speak light of things.

She merely shook her head, such glorified words were not something that he should speak; those were of a heart who dared to believe whatever they spoke. He was a rare young man, but in the end not one who speak such things. However this did not change the fact that she was impressed with his mind, his actions, the innocence he still harbored, and the will to carry on.

All was impressive enough to speak about; she felt that she almost owed him something for his feelings. All of which he placed within her and just how he felt about her in that same capacity.

"Harribel-sama…as you might be aware; we as your fraccion have all been sharing something sacred in the mind of a human. Each of them has bonded with me; in strange ways have we found each other and become more than what we were. In this way is it that usually my people will show their feelings and their truest self. I doubt that such a thing would become a light between us. But I want you to know that I am still devoted to serving you as your fraccion. Here and I now, I know that I am proud to be where I am, at my station." He revealed another part of him in his choice of words.

Perhaps a truth he was not able to admit to himself, despite it never having been false. Saying things always made it more real, while he showed a vulnerable piece of himself and trusted her not to crush that part of him. It was something that he was almost sure he could count on; as long as he judged her personality correctly.

What happened next for him was something of breath-taking, something he never expected in a million years. To feel the arms of his superior wrapped around him, he knew that he hadn't then enough of a vocabulary that would help describes what he felt; this was something he was sure of. To feel her touch was like magic before him and there was just no method he had for trying to describe what he felt.

While his mind toiled over what he felt, her arms merely held the smaller shincy in her arms closely. He felt this strongly about his situation and despite what this meant he was going to shoulder it for her sake. He was giving her the dedication that she expected no less of her own fraccion, merely to work together as a unit was what mattered. So there would be no major sacrifices, he was from this point on; one true fraccion before her eyes. There would be no more doubts about him, she decided that from this point.

After something of several moments passing, she let him go and would be truthful with him; he felt strongly despite it still only being a crush. She was worried about his safety perhaps, but there was enough if anything to think about. It would not be something she took at face value, could she feel for him the way he felt in this moment? It was something to consider at the very least. It was cute to see someone with a crush on her, even if it was only a mature youth with good manners.

"Kousou, I wish for you to have a good evening. I enjoyed our time together, it seems you will be back in enough time to greet the ladies on their way in. They should be returning from their mission about this time." She said while giving him a light pat on the shoulder, more of an assuring touch on his shoulder. She sensed he had been worrying about them, she could see it cross his face from time to time.

After a few more words, Kou had turned to head back to his room, since it seemed that Harribel-sama had been right on cue. He sensed Sun-Sun, Apache, and Mila Rose on their return. Most out of flux appeared to be Apache, he imagined she had done some rather troublesome things to end up as she had.

-With Sun-Sun, Mila Rose, and Apache—

Sun-Sun lead the trio back towards their quarters and being the one who took the least amount of damage, she was actually bothered by whatever the mission had been about, something had happened and despite the fact she took the least damage, it had not gone as well as planned.

For Mila Rose, the amount of hollows that had been awaiting them there disturbed her, was Aizen really so hated? She wasn't questioning her orders in the slightest, but it had been the word of what she had been doing towards this point; having destroyed so many adjuchas today did remind her of just what their past had been like for a moment. Just a little shaken, she proceeded towards her room to cool down a little bit.

Apache had been the one most visibly damaged, her clothing somewhat tattered from a few blasts she may have received; though it seemed like in that regard she had no problem. But she did decide that she was taking her time with Kou this evening, she desired the boy's scent to begin first by covering her, to feel his gentle hands along her skin. He was a beautiful vision before her, something charming that she enjoyed possessing when she decided to.

"There you are Kou…good, come with me." She said as she grabbed him by the waist; scooping him up easily in her arms, she carried him over her shoulder and ignored any glances she might've been getting from Mila Rose or Sun-Sun.

He always made her feel better and that was the only thing that she needed to accept as a fact. There was no need for her not to put either of her partners ahead of her, for the time with him would be hers; she would have nothing less.

Sun-Sun made her comment before Apache disappeared into the confines of her own room.

"What an utterly barbaric way of greeting someone, but only to be expected of you Apache." She said while holding her sleeve before her face.

"Stuff it bitch, I've had enough of you for one day." She said before shutting her door and binding it shut.

-Within Apache's Room—

After arriving at her bed, she threw Kou down on the mattress and immediately shed her clothing. There was no word for asking, she desired one thing to satisfy her troubled nerves and that was her lover being against her. She felt him as hers, as a lover and someone that she had bonded with in mateship. As she rolled into his arms, wearing only her brassiere and panties, she felt all the better while embracing him; curling into his gentle hold and sticking her face in his hair and inhaling his scent.

To her there was nothing more refreshing than to be held when one felt like it, she'd learned to accept this around Kousou. He was not so simple a male as to think this meant he must protect her, it meant that she was feeling something and wanted comfort. There was nothing wrong with seeking that, it had taken a few weeks of being with him before she was able to realize that for herself. To be with this young shincy brought a sense of fulfillment to her, she felt whole and for the better a lot less bitchy. She knew herself that well to know that was just what she was whenever she felt like it.

She growled softly while against him, biting his skin softly and feeling his fingers smooth out along her skin while she traced her fingers through his hair. She was jealous of that about him…such long and soft hair, something she'd seen him brushing before and tying up before he fought. It made her laugh, since he was very much like a woman in that capacity on some level concerned about his hair.

He was a wonderful little thing to have around, more to point was he a gorgeous mate if ever chosen by her.

"Kou you might be wondering why you didn't go on our mission today…but you don't need to wonder. Just understand that there were enough enemies there of a difficult nature that would have troubled you in your current form. I won't say your not strong, but you aren't ready and I would not have been able to protect you." As sure as the word she just spoke, that was how important he was to her.

Apache would be damned if this idiot didn't know what he meant to her, he was far too special for her to just leave alone. Her cute lover, who would stand up for her and try to protect her because it was simply the right thing to do; she would never have found a single male who would treat her as well as Kousou did.

One who could easily frustrate her and yet bring her such calm, he seemed to lend her his calm from time to time. Most of her jitters had been shaken just by her curling into his body, she knew she'd feel much better when she got into the mood. There was no need to speak at all, just to touch him and know he was there.

Finally opening her eyes while embraced by him, she sat up and kissed his lips gently, leaning her body into his and tracing her fingers along his cheeks. For one such of a first time from her, she wasn't starting off rough and immediate with him, it was beginning slower as she tasted the sweetness of his lips. Pressing close to him while she licked along his lips gently; resting in the comfort of his body warmth for a few moments. She had the whole night…indeed there was no rush.

Playing for what seemed to be a few minutes while holding gentle kisses; Apache found Kou free of his Quincy top and halfway out of his hakama, she imagined at some point she had been undoing his clothing and nudging them off while they kissed; he was wonderful indeed.

Such an exquisite touch he had, with soft skin and a glow in his cheeks from the elevation of the mood; she knew that her prudish shincy was gradually letting himself falling into the moment while she began the domination of his body.

(-Mature Content Ahead-)

Her instinct told her that a trail of kisses was the way to go and with that mantle of his out of her way, she was free to kiss along his lithe muscular form. Letting her tongue play along his flesh, it was the first time she'd really decided to take it _this_ gently with him. Though with all plans of hers ahead, she would make up for the gentleness with more rough time later; she was rarely satisfied unless she'd had him hard. It was one thing to remind herself just how wild she could be and what she needed to keep her sated.

It was hard to believe she'd been going without such action like this earlier, though the fact remained that she would never have done this with just _anyone_, no matter how desperate they would have been. In that same light, she found herself having only one person in mind to do this with; that was Kousou. Perhaps she would let him have more time to recover later, though since he was in her room she'd be sure he wasn't leaving without giving her some loving before he left. She would demand it of him, even should he have a mission she'd have a fast time with him then.

She grinned evilly at her thought, as she watched him squirm under the feeling of her content kisses; sounding so pitiful and so weak...this was just what excited her the way it did. He was a foolish little bit of prey who came to her to be taken, wandering freely into her grasp and surrendering what he was to her. Even if it was just part of the game she led herself to believe, she loved it to death. It was the perfect setting and even more perfect mood right now.

Thoughts still rolled through her mind as she finished undressing him and was promptly in that warm lap of his once again, did he know how crazy he made her? He made her feel things that should never be considered by an arrancar in her position, she wanted to wander off somewhere with him and actually contemplated just life with him. Though she was no fool, sharing him was annoying enough but something that she'd come to expect. She knew Mila-Rose was taken with this youth just as she, unexpected that _she_ of all people would be content with sharing. But nothing less was deserved of fellow arrancar, they deserved this tenderness as much as she did when she claimed it.

"You are innocence divine Yuushin Kousou, you will never know what you fully do to me...but I can't get enough; I find myself constantly returning and dipping back to taste more you. That is just the same why I will protect your weak heart with my strength, you can destroy if you must but such compassion will only end the wrong way here; I will accept that you are _ours_ just the same. For even I cannot be that greedy." her words confused him, good...it was better to see him like that.

She returned to her assault on his skin and found her face buried in his neck again, biting and scratching along his chest while she settled against him. He was so hopeless, a warrior that was but a little child in age and willing to face so much. A fool...but a rare form of one that she now had, normal life? Ha! she could never see him living one, with such prowess and yet choosing not to exercise it.

While feeling her teeth nibbling over his skin, her gentle touch astounded him, this was no situation where he could simply slip away from...no by fact he was used to this situation by now; though he noted her changes. She needed this interaction, more now desiring his touch and gentleness. It was just what change that he sensed in her long since their first interaction had passed, there was nothing that was resting within his soul but a need to be there for each of these rare jewels. Was he becoming stuck on those who had taken advantage? Such things were almost impossible to avoid.

An exchange between the two had happened, between those arrancar women who were taken with him and he the victim on the account of cases. He had no choice but to make this work, on some level he just knew that he could not allow them to die. Any of them...he would have to grow in power; he'd demand the growth...the change, the power was coming.

Apache's sudden thrust onto him ended all thinking he'd been up to, as he felt the impact of her hips with his own, this resulting in a soft slap from the force used. She was taking it easy on him since watching him grunt in surprise and his beautiful eyes were glittering with more innocence; he made her wild and almost seemed on purpose.

"Stop thinking, I won't have anymore thoughts in your head; now hold onto me and think of just me." this demand was unheard of, though he complied with her wishes. For a moment he saw something of a smile, though he wasn't sure whether it was a grin or smirk. Was she happy?

Those words barely touched what she was feeling right now, she was thrilled like one couldn't believe, as feeling both hands on her hips and his eyes focused on her made her feel in ways she couldn't describe. Though her pride was what mattered most of all, he bolstered it with that look in his eyes and his obedience; she would reward his quick response with something of a gentle start.

Her hips raised slowly at first as she waited a moment before descending on his length, once more engulfing him and giving him a semi-gentle squeeze while letting off a breath. This feeling was always something that thrilled her, to feel that heat filling her more intimate of regions and giving her a pleasure. She could hardly identify what made it feel so good, was it the friction she felt from his flesh within her? Perhaps it was the soft rubbing on her waist that he did or maybe his meek eyes looking at her with something in that she was unfamiliar with. It seemed not to matter, since she was in heaven while he was with her, she his legs rubbing against hers while she moved and it made her grin; **_she_** was responsible for that squirming and his gentle gasps.

Kou was stunned by the whole thing, she had not started off slamming as she would usually and not just that since he found her gaze returning to his eyes every now and then. He was in awe of her gentle actions, though it wasn't without the rough grating of her hips once she took him back into her or when she squeezed him harder when rising; it was far more tolerable than her usual actions. With how he was feeling now, he knew that what stamina he'd built against her roughness would not hold out against this much gentler action. It felt almost loving in a strange way and he wasn't sure how to put up with it.

That confusion had helped her find more pleasure in his wiggles and shifting beneath her, he wasn't by any means squirming too badly but he was still moving occasionally and rubbing her skin a little bit whenever she moved. She pondered how when most claws or shinigami zanpakutos would not pierce her skin that she should shudder underneath a delicate touch from this boy. Too many things that she couldn't understand, but she imagined it would come into understanding soon enough; each time she lay with him she felt stranger and had no explanation for why she needed it.

Her craving of his body had settled into something of a routine, she had come to accept her unofficial days with the boy; but it was enough to keep her sated and something she reveled in. Yes, like now she was freely moving her body without fear of anything, just the blanket that she had put in her room for this boy's company and his body. A veil of heat that surrounded them both as her actions became more labored, the descent of her hips seemed to pick up as the slapping grew louder with the creaking of her bed.

"Yes...that's it..." she huffed as she started grounding more forcefully on his base...this was what she desired now; the moment that everything was heating up and the point where she felt her gripping tunnel slicker from the constant friction. Her grip tightened on his shoulders as she rubbed them gently, not squeezing too hard as she held her breath and grinded on base for a few moments. Having found the right 'spot' with him inside of her, the ride was really on now as she held him inside of her and worked her muscles around him. Just in that light and method, she kept him still and pressed her hips down harder as her walls pulsed hotter.

It was just so sudden and she couldn't get enough of it, she delighted in all of her motions and seemed once more to forget about the one beneath her. Finally moving again, her hips rose and made something of a 'squelching' sound upon rising, a grip tightening and her walls becoming slicker only helped her slow humping motions against his body.

He was faultless in his body's response to her, unable to contend with the sudden levels of her strength he lay beneath her, helpless to her torturous squeezing and grinding at his base. His shaft twitched with great need, he was on the edge of orgasm and had been the moment she held him for that long moment; though her grip gave him no chance to give out. How badly now his length twitched with a growing need, sending vibrating pulses into her walls each time she squeezed a little harder; his eyes ended up rolling into his head from it all...the action was too much and he fell limp beneath her.

As she felt his body's quivering muscles fall limp, she had just finished hilting him and wanted to see what was wrong with him; though the moment her contracting muscles released around him did she feel the blazing heat of his essence filling her. With little waste, she felt a hot torrent filling her body and giving her the final moments she desired herself: as her release came to her in a white light and one loud cry from Apache's lips.

Her collapse upon his limp body was sudden, while she herself was pressed flush against him, her chest heaving as she panted above him...what intensity that she had not felt before. It appears that she knocked him out, she felt his heart thumping in his chest which was a good sign; at least she had not killed him with what had happened.

"Mm...enjoyable Kou...I can hardly wait until tomorrow morning." she cooed those words softly, feeling quite satisfied with what she'd gotten from him.

(-End Mature Content-)

As the usual went, while he was unconsciousness she took him for a quick bath and ensured that he was and her linens were clean before laying him to rest and curling into his side. Both arms securely around his waist, he'd have to deal with his prudish habits later for tonight she desired his skin against hers. It was a nice security to know that one was nearby and resting against you without one moment of worry, she had him and that was all that mattered.

(End Chapter)

And there you have a most interesting chapter, as feelings came clear it was all another thing for Kou's life becoming stranger by the minute. How will this affect the way things are? Will something else change and will he claim Bankai?

These answers await you in the next chapter; till the next time I bid you adieu

-Quentix


	10. Chapter: The Rewards of Sacrifice

A/N: Well after waiting a moment it appears that things have stepped up a notch, as Kousou's adventures in Hueco Mundo continue on his quest for increased combat potential, has he forgotten his true purpose of escape? Find that out and more in this chapter, now on the fic!

(End A/N)

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of the characters from the series, I just own my character Kousou Yuushin, his parents, and any other side characters I introduce not of the Kubo brand.

(End Disclaimer)

Chapter IX: The Rewards of Sacrifice

As the morning came (or what was the equivalent in Hueco Mundo) Kousou awakened to a clean feeling and the close warmth of something much warmer than a blanket. To his surprise he found Apache's arms around his midsection, her face pressed to the side of his hair, and a firm grip that had no intentions of letting him go even after he'd awakened. Kou decided to test this by squirming and found her face pressing into the back of his neck as he turned in her arms; she drew him closer instead of allowing him any space.

"Going somewhere Kou? You know very well that I said 'I can't wait until morning'; did you think that I was finished with you? Last night you were tired but that does not matter with today in mind." Apache said this with a grin while she gave his waist a soft squeeze.

He blushed at her actions and rubbed her arms, unable to think of anything to say at the moment, instead he pressed into her that much more and led his fingers to stroke along her side; he had already given up because he knew that if she wanted, she could easily overpower him she really wished. He couldn't escape and that's all the clutching was telling him right now.

She had Kou in her grasp and had no intention of releasing him, why would she allow him to walk off when he was here in her arms? Until he was needed for something, he was staying right here and it made her feel relaxed.

"I do not wish to ruin the mood, but this morning I am being summoned in a few hours, it is my time to show Harribel-sama my improvements." He said told her a fact that was later of the day.

Though truth had been told he was getting out some time before if this worked out so that he could challenge Kazashiryuu and defeat her in battle. He needed her power, he would put it all on the line this day; all of this training and the force he had endured up to this point. It would be his victory or a fate probably nearing death if he failed. If anything his Zanpakuto was extraordinarily effective at finishing a fight quickly as he'd found out in the past by sparring with her.

Though he was brought from his thoughts by another soft lick to the back of his neck while she held onto him, it was certainly enough time that she could enjoy feeling him close for a time.

"Then I will do you a favor, you're going to spar with me. Only then will you be leaving freely." Her words full of that usual resolve that she held but her face holding a rather wide grin, this reflecting a chance to remind him of who held his time right now.

Kou didn't bother to question her reasoning or whatever idea she might have; at the very least it would be something that he needed to warm up and this was a good chance. This would allow him to test his sealed form against her and his shikai, had he improved from the first time he faced them? He was able to stand against them briefly, then he had to release for the extra power.

While he knew that Apache trained rigorously day in and day out, he wanted to see if his steady momentum in his personal growth would continue?

"Just a few moments to stretch myself out and get ready, for that I would need to get dressed." Again he told nothing but a truth that she both knew and annoyed her.

Instead of demanding more time with him, she decided to be kind on this issue. Since he would give her something else that she loved to do, like spar, she could forgive his narrowed use of reasoning against her.

Leaving Apache the main room to re-dress, Kou went into the bathroom not only to change into the fresh pair of clothing that he picked out. Though he knew she was staring at him the whole time, he didn't let it pressure him any. He had been the object of two arrancar pretty steadily, he guessed that he was finally getting used to the looks.

However a swat on the backside sent him stumbling into the bathroom and made him blush. If it took him this long to get used to looks, then it would take longer for the swats and touches; that is if he ever really did.

After refreshing himself for the day and awakening himself completely, Kou took a few moments to stretch and once he stepped out of the bathroom and was met by a serious looking Apache.

"And now I want you to show me some of your power, I won't ask you go too far since Harribel-sama will want to your strength at full. But you are going to show me some of what you throw around. I've noticed that your style depends on your skill and technique, while you express your strength within limits. It is somewhat effective unless your opponent isn't going to allow it." Apache was basically explaining the difference between them.

Kou nodded to her words since that was his choice of battle-type, he preferred expending as little power as necessary and tried strategy or tactics in a bout. Spar or otherwise he preferred conservation.

"My whole point Kousou is that against most Arrancar you won't have that option. As you'll find out with me when we spar what kind of opponent most arrancar play as, heavy on power and very little worry about overall power. You are not one of us not nearly as resilient, but you are durable which probably comes from the hollow power freely flowing throughout your body. Learn that strength and you may yet become a better match for others like us." She grinned at that, holding pride in being what she was.

There was never any doubt with the arrancar and Kou found that admirable, it was a pride that was unlike anything he'd ever seen. It reminded him of something that his father had told him at one time.

'_Son we are neither hollow or shinigami, we walk a strange path you and I. There are others like us, but again not quite the same. All I mean for you to understand is do not think of it as Black and White, but a stream of gray when wielding your powers. You never know, it might actually become more if you focus it.' _

Those words didn't make a whole lot of sense then or now really. But he did believe he was starting to understand just what his father meant. Both powers were his to wield and in that right his duty to learn well.

With these thoughts behind him he walked to the open window and leapt onto the ledge and looked back at Apache before jumping down to the sand. He didn't have time for a long spar, but it would be enough for a few passes; it was all a matter of concentration given how close to the surface his powers ranged.

As he landed on the sand some odd feet away from the room he'd been staying at, he turned and prepared to engage in Hand-to-Hand to first things off; he would take this step by step and see just where he ranged in skill. As he noted Apache's presence and her ready stance, there was no other moment to wait as he watched her disappear in a raw flash of speed.

Her use of Sonido was flawless as she traversed the ground before her and appeared in the following instant; her fist launching at his face. The blow was well aimed, but since Kou had been aware of her movements, he managed to sidestep her punch and grabbed her arm, tugging down on it to use her own momentum to launch her.

The tactic had succeeded and Apache was launched if only briefly, as she skillfully twisted her body and straightened out in midair before landing on the sand. To her surprise Kou was already there and launching a blow for her midsection. Still she managed to align her body to the left of his punch and allowed it to pass harmlessly along her stomach. Sweeping her fist in a backward sweep aimed for his face, at this range she didn't imagine that she'd miss him. The thought was right since she was met by both of his forearms which sent him sliding backwards along the sand, while he ducked low and brought his foot into a rising arc aimed for her cheek.

The kick was easy for her to avoid and was easily dodged, to Apache's credit she had watched him enough times as he practiced the strange kata forms he had from time to time. She knew that it was not without purpose. He held a unique skill, but again he was trying skill to her power, she'd show him the error.

The strength difference became very clear as she batted him backwards in his tracks once again, as he blocked two blows and avoided another: a punch, a kick, and shoulder ram that grazed him. He wasn't bruising like he was earlier, but this wasn't doing him any good either.

"I will need to toughen up my body." He said as he released more reiatsu in that instant upon drawing his Zanpakuto.

The short match did continue on a different level, now his Swordsmanship vs. Apache's hierro. The testament would be that he could even in his sealed form cut through her iron-skin; it was something that she wanted to know. He was too soft to know what she had planned, but he'd figure it out when she stopped holding back. Was he strong enough to do so? If he could, then she would think that he had a better chance of survival and thus it was for his own good.

His zanpakuto was held at a length and the moment that she swept her fist at him, he blocked her punch with the flat of the blade and spun it lightly around the edge of her arm to thrust at her chest. Casually Apache's free wrist blocked the strike of the katana and then swept her knuckles to punch the blade down before moving in on him.

Ducking her up close punch as she moved in, he swept the sword at her face and aimed it for her neck. To the point, Apache avoided the zanpakuto along her armored wrist; the interesting thing was the fact that she was masterfully controlling his zanpakuto's aim, attempting to force him into a defensive point.

She locked him down and once again despite having fair skill with his swordsmanship; Apache was once again forcing him to draw back almost completely. This was becoming clear as each moment passed forward, his mind quickly retreated to one thought: his hollow powers.

Without a word while he drew back, his zanpakuto's tip glowing a soft navy if just for a second before his sword released a navy and gold edged bala, aimed straight for her form. It was meant to be a surprise, but since he'd learned that hollow powers were so similar to his Quincy in nature of being focused; it was only a simple matter of applying the rules to it.

The theory paid off, given that the bala struck home on Apache. She stumbled back a few times from the impact of the blast and growled. It was sudden and not very powerful, but it was enough to throw her off, it gave him time to thrust at her face; which she narrowly sidestepped and kicked at his feet. Kou leapt over her feet and nimbly jumped some few feet over her kick and flipped once before landing with his back to her.

As Apache took the bait and rushed him with his back turned, she was met by the edge of his sword, being used to guard his blind spot; she pretty much sliced her own left knuckle against the sharp end of his blade. The result was what she hoped, as the blow sent Kou into a somersault forward and caused him to land on one knee, with his zanpakuto directed to his right.

While she wished to continue it would simply have to wait until later. They had been sparring for about a half hour now and she knew that time was of the essence.

"Alright Kousou, not too bad with those tactics, it seems that you listen well. But we're not done here, I'll let it slide since you gave me a good rest last night." Her grin followed that up, before she kissed his hair and hugged him once.

It was strange to see her acting so affectionate, but the swat on his backside told him that she was still mostly herself. Still affected by the change of being with him, he didn't question it and instead just used Shunpo to find a quieter spot to claim his Bankai. There was nothing that would be peaceful about it, but he imagined that it would be fine in the long run.

-Somewhere in the desert—

After sometime of dashing Kou had found a good spot that was surrounded by dunes, he had about an hour before he would be his skills would be checked out by Harribel-sama. This was for his ability to protect himself, for the strength to defend those important to him; indeed how blurred that line had become since his arrival here.

Without a single word necessary to his zanpakuto, Kazashiryuu emerged from the sword and stood upon the dunes with a look in her eye that spoke of her intentions: she demanded a match to see who was stronger.

"Are you capable of controlling my powers? Come Kousou Yuushin, prove your power." she said while holding her hand out and forming the sword in hand, her released form, the ornamental chokuto held firmly in her grip as she started towards Kou in an instant.

Immediately a clash between the two resounding with a heavy echo of their matching zanpakuto meeting in mid-swing; as Kou had just barely kept up with her pace and released his shikai at that instant of seeing her adjacent sweeping blade. Almost immediately following the initial clash, both fighters disappeared in use of shunpo, another burst of reiatsu scorching the air from their meeting swords.

After about four more of these energetic crashes, Kou could be seen sliding backwards across the sand, trying to regain his footing as Kazashiryuu belted him across the face with her free fist, sending him into the air from the monstrous force behind the blow. As she gave chase, she found herself quite disappointed with his level of power, was this it? He was just barely stumbling about and he was supposed to submit her?

"Is this all the training has done?" she yelled after him, her face stern and her eyes cold. She would force him to show her his true powers; she could sense he was trying to conserve, this would not do if he were to control her powers truly.

Just the mention of his training had brought him back to his thoughts, he was a young man of many thought out plans, always one to think about the finer devices or skill required, even having the power he'd gained through his torturous training under Aizen's regiment daily, he hadn't lost that edge.

Now it was time to gain a new edge, he needed to surpass his formal self and knew that he desired some fighting edge personality. It was a method to surpass his old state from the day before; just thinking about it had made his mind tense with something he'd never felt before. There was a desire, something inside him that had begun to blossom since coming into the harsh environment of Hueco Mundo.

'**You make me proud at times to be your other Kousou, to think…you're finally figuring out what I've been showing you!' **The gleefully dark tone coming from his hollow half had brought him something else; a spark of anger that he rarely touched upon.

Even as Kazashiryuu pummeled his body, launching him into the air once again and striking him repeatedly; Kou's newfound feeling didn't dull down. It was a growing hint of something that he couldn't quite understand.

No words came from Kou as the last blow Kazashiryuu gave him, shot him deep into the sandy dunes; while she stood above in the air looking down at him and shaking her head.

"I'd always thought you to be stronger than this…you who learned my power, wanted to know my name…you who've been my friend as well as my partner for this long. To think I would crush you so easily, it saddens me Kou, but I will not take it easy on you; Prepare for the end!" her tone was full of just what she promised, his untimely death.

While she took the moment to surge with reiatsu, she had no time to respond to Kou's sudden appearance in front of her.

"Sokatsui (Blue Fire, Crash Down)!" the instant he appeared, the chantless spell hit her point blank and sent her flying backwards.

In that instant she tried to recover she sensed his presence behind her again, only in time to hear the name of the ending words of the chant; she quickly realized what kind of trouble she'd been in.

"…The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hado#63: Raikoho (Thunder Roar Sear)!" at that instant the powerful, fully spoken words of the commanded destructive spell resounded.

A violent blast of the wave echoed out across the desert and could be felt by anyone who had any sensory skill of even the smallest kind. That instant that it hit off, it was clear that Kou was not where he said he was; still with little over 20 minutes his fight for his Bankai needed to be over.

These thoughts still passed through Kou's mind as he drifted downward, forcing his body to feel past the pain that rattled his body from the second point blank spell he'd used; Kou landed on his hands and knees. Feeling the shock of his smoking attire, that had been reckless move but he knew that his zanpakuto felt it.

He had to finish this with her before she had time to rise or recover at all: he was thinking now of a relentless assault on his sword as the best method.

"I didn't think you had it in you Kousou, that took guts…but you'll need more than even that to defeat me. Now come, we haven't much power left after that, so let's see how much more resolve you can show me." Kaza's voice was polite and full of surprise.

As he turned to his face Zanpakuto spirit, he saw her big smile and her acknowledgement at his surprising her. But this of course was over the moment she ended her sentence: this would be finished in the next few moves.

Again a short silence before Kou's use of Shunpo and a clash of their blades once again showed the re-initiation of their intense combat; unsuspecting eyes were upon him. While Kou's timing and even planning had been masterfully done, his absence had not gone unnoticed by his fellow fraccion. Both Mila-Rose and even Sun-Sun had come to see what the subtle elevation of reiatsu that had been so close to the palace compound.

Both had been surprised by the action they found upon arrival and while neither spoke of it, one could not deny the impressive sight of Kou's efforts. They had been joined by an annoyed Apache who had earlier on returned to her room, believing Kou was off to see Harribel-sama. When she arrived at the spectacle she was full of annoyance at first, but shortly seeing what the battle going on was about; was suddenly full of questions.

Who the hell was that with Kou? How did she have his sword? When did Kou become so bold? There were many but she left it alone really, there was no point to get into it if he were busy. The battle seemed personal and she could respect that, she did not get involved despite her feeling to protect what was hers arose.

While the fraccion viewed the battle, none of them ever noticed Harribel's presence. Being a master of her own powers she had easily masked her presence; keeping the reiatsu pressure so low that she seemed no different than the casual surroundings of sand and small creatures running about. While having never witnessed such a spectacle before, she came to some easy observations from the scene that told her what was happening.

This strange female that had showed up felt almost exactly Kousou reiatsu-wise with subtle differences, she wielded the same zanpakuto that he had at the same instant he did, and she mentioned wanting to see his power before. The answer was simple: Kousou was attempting to subjugate his zanpakuto spirit in order to gain greater power. The answer was simple based upon his current standing as her fraccion.

She was certain he knew that even with his Bankai and hollowfication that he couldn't defeat her, especially without the skill necessary. Even with that he was in a place full of Arrancar who were more than willing to crush him if he resisted, there was no way it was for resistance…the reason while simple did surprise her somewhat. He was challenging himself so hard, so that he might have something to show for all of his training. This desperate action was to pull his wait for his current standing as her fraccion. There were other reasons she applied to this, but none of this fit his person as far as she knew.

He wanted to better carry his weight and have something in reserve for himself. He had pride but this wasn't about that, perhaps some odd combination of planning to leave and still attending his duties while in Hueco Mundo; she was sure it was some blend of what information that was in her possession. But still, it was stunning to see him go so far out of his way at all.

"Yet another noble sacrifice Kousou." These were the words of her choice as she watched another explosion of light and power.

The sky over the two had become dark with the elements, crackling thunder and even rain was falling; the more it intensified the worse that it got. All observers noted the strange weather and each had their own responses, but remained focused on the battle at hand; while reaching its climax it became clear it was to end and soon.

The fight was in the final moments of clashing had come to an end as a crackle of thunder resounded into the surrounding space.

"You've given a good show Kou, but its time we end this." She said as her chokuto ignited in a blaze of electrical discharge.

The bright glimmer of her sword showed her feelings of the need to attack, her focus to shatter Kou's will and perhaps end him in the strike. This was met by a determined whirlwind, held in Kou's hand as he offered no words and just ran at her. Gripping the blade in a two-handed grasp, and with the strike of the glowing lightning and the violent whorl of the wind; the final pass had been made.

Kou's electrified body fell to the floor, in the rain of his blue locks falling around his body like some kind of veil. It was to say that the strike was mutual, as Kazashiryuu fell from the sky and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Her kimono tattered by the violent winds that hit home.

"C-Congr..atulations…K-Kousou…my power…is now…yours.." her words came off barely a whisper as she fell back to the ground.

As her body fell lax, her body disappeared in a soft array of blue light and faded back into the zanpakuto. Kou hadn't been conscious to realize he won, after being electrified his body had given way to the wounds and pain he suffered.

For all of the strength that he had shown, the sacrifice given to this whole situation, he had impressed Harribel greatly, and to her thoughts now seeing her fraccion safe so he could recover took precedence. She made her presence known to the three arrancar women who had been observing it from a closer position.

"Well don't just stand there ladies, go and retrieve Kousou. He must be treated for his wounds, then we shall learn what his reasons were for attempting such a dangerous task." Feigning that she didn't know why Kou had done so, she'd get the reason or reasons from his explanation.

It seemed somehow to even out, Apache and Mila-Rose went down to collected the thrashed shincy and his zanpakuto. Then returned to Harribel's palace to tend to his wounds and put him to bed so he could sleep. All the while he was being looked over carefully by Sun-Sun, who was surprised that such a prudent boy would be this reckless. She was surprised and touched by the action in a strange way. But with each holding their own thoughts they returned to the palace.

-Back in Kousou's Room—

As Kou lay in bed, several hours later he awakened to the sounds of voices in his mind. There he could hear laughing from his other, Yami-kou was laughing at his condition.

'**Nice work kid, you managed to defeat our lovely lady of the wind and claimed your Bankai. I feel stronger, but I understand that you like her in the control of our overall power. It is my strength that I feel is greater, you've got more to learn about the power I have within, that we have in our heart. Our hollow powers go deeper due to your Quincy potential, so let's tap into that purity alright?' **it was funny to hear those words.

Tapping into his Quincy powers? He hadn't done that in some time, aside from practicing various spells: he had never attempted to claim the power that many Quincy feared. It was the power of the Quincy final form, strength to fight at a level surpassing a captain it was said…could he handle it? Regular Quincy could not due to their physical limitations, but he was also a Shinigami. His body could handle the surge…right?

But one thought for another time and this was not one of them that he was going to entertain with his body in such pain, after what he'd done during the past moments he wouldn't be trying anything for some time now. He considered returning to sleep, that it until he heard a voice that was not internal.

"It is good to see you awake Kousou and good to know that your reiatsu is stable now. I just wanted to know exactly what led you to do something that dangerous as trying to achieve your Bankai?" her words were to the point, simply to find out what it was that he was dealing.

"..I apologize for the dangerous activity but it was a necessity. I understood that I would not be able to achieve much at my current strength, that I would not pose a serious threat to those I might be sent out to face. I want to make you proud and to serve you justly Harribel-sama, the only way this was possible was attaining the power I now have." The statement was indeed the truth, withholding the latter that she already knew.

She nodded to his reasoning and seemed to be surprised with just the amount of dedication that he had within his heart. He was dedicating so much and it just disturbed her thoughts, this same feeling was what had drawn in her other fraccion. She knew of his many strange if not numerous dedications to Apache, Mila-Rose, and Sun-Sun. It was a strange kind of exchange he had with them and an even stranger connection made.

But being in his presence she was able to see it and be pleased with it, it was very surprising indeed. Kousou was a very special young man; she for one could admit that he had a strange charisma about him.

"Your dedication to me continues to surprise me Kousou, but it will not go unrecognized and I have decided that I will train your skills personal. I will ensure your knowledge of your hollow powers proceed beyond what I have taught you. This path will be hard but…I will see how far these powers can be pushed within your body. Just how far can these abilities go? Even I wonder that." Unlike the prior lessons where she'd seen him the basic understanding, she decided that he would learn more in-depth skills.

Kou was taken aback by her words and felt nothing but humble emotion filling his weakened body, he was feeling much better versus what he felt earlier on; but now it was a matter of wanting to rise and begin as immediately as he could. Though as things stood his body was still a little weak from the battle, the fact he'd gained his Bankai meant a number of things would change. He would be rigorously trained to use it once Aizen had learned of this; there were many new variables to think about.

The words of his superior brought him back to the present, the choice of words are what most stunned him.

"I will be training your Bankai personally…perhaps I will not be able to help you learn its power; but I will be able to help you hone the skill. React to true combat of a superior component, your strongest asset is your mind Kousou; I will force you to sharpen it and react carefully. You have the great tools of conservation, skill, understanding of your power but what you have now defies all of that. But you will learn that on your own as we continue your training." Harribel's personal interest had surprised him and in truth it left him wondering.

He was also happy in another way; this meant more time in the company of someone he was starting to like, perhaps he'd learn more of her in this presence. This made him think about his emotions: how did he feel about his fellow fraccion he'd become intimate with? Did this affect how he felt when considering their emotions on this matter? He had way of understanding it, he still cared about them.

It confused him again, how did one react to living this strange life of being shared like this? He was not an arrancar and yet his life had become something complicated beyond his comprehension. A hand on his shoulder settled his wary mind and those issues that were going through his mind, he was likely just thinking too far into it.

"If you are ready then we will start with your basics, then tonight there will be a dinner in your honor. For such sacrifices do not go unrecognized by me Kousou. You are giving a lot more towards your position. For your status as my fraccion and your excellence…I will at least hold you in tribute for one evening as the least I can do." She put a hand on his shoulder and showed that she meant it.

These were not mere words but were in that light something that the humble shincy had not thought much of. Simply doing what he had to be recognized by others not himself. Kou nodded and gripped his zanpakuto, sore or otherwise it would be good to be out of bed again.

"I am ready when you are Harribel-sama." He said as he rose from the bed and took to his feet, stretching his legs out and getting ready for the test of his power, he was sure that it would be something that pushed his limit at the very least.

Harribel gestured to the window as an exit for the great desert space, she was going to see the growth of his skill with his hollow powers and whatever else he chose to employ during this little spar as a test. As the two headed for the desert, Kou's mind was simply on doing his best instead of any kind of attempt to impress her. It was a spar and as he'd learned from his father it was nothing to get cocky or proud in; just to do one's best in.

Kousou and the time passed with relatively good progress as Harribel would make notes of during her charge's practice with her, he'd come a good way with the little skill he had with Cero and Bala, their understandings, and methods of employment as well. As the match had only begun, the time would simply blur together as the two traded off skilled blows with one another.

-Some hours later—

After the lengthy spar held on a whim, Kou had returned to his room to rest and recoup from the spar. Harribel-sama did not take it easy on him despite his early struggles with his zanpakuto's spirit, instead the rather stern but gentle push for his improvement was something he was glad for. He was after improvement and that was his greatest hope.

"I can do this...its not too far off after all." he felt very complete after his work earlier, he finally defeated Kazashiryuu and attained his Bankai, he was able to be pushed even after just a few hours of rest and having his wounds treated.

He wouldn't be treated so kindly on the battlefield and so it would be wiser for him to truly learn the art of battle; from the side of the arrancars now.

**'That's the spirit Kou! You learn the art of the hollow from me, the art of the arrancar from that Harribel chick and the other three, we'll be stronger in no time flat.' **This word of surprising approval of Kou's actions caught him off guard for a minute.

Though he was quick to remind Yami-kou why he was after this power.

'Thank you for the praise and we will be stronger together, but its more than that...we will have improved all that we have as a power. This will be for the sake of serving Harribel-sama, until we part ways I will not break away from my duties to her.'

The word was something that was most true about him, his dependability was always something that many a person could count on, almost considered the greatest asset and weakness at times to the shincy.

_'Just see that you don't attach yourself too much to them Kousou, I'd say that devotion can easily blind you from our escape. It's the greatest thing you can achieve, I need you to wait for the right time to leave...alright? Your parents want you safe and the arrancar's duties are to look after you...but do not forget they are also why you are here.' _Kazashiryuu spoke nothing but the truth and her words made Kou stop to think.

There was enough truth in her words to ring home with him, as he thought about it all she said was dead on. He was unable to do anything short of soaking in the tub. He hadn't even remembered getting here but of course it was of the way; his body was torn asunder by the combat from his superior. What he was fortunate for was the fact that their medics were so efficient at fixing his wounds whenever he got that, what appeared to be difficult was of course managing the extra hollow reiatsu used to heal him. It was strange the way that it drew out more of his darker powers.

It wasn't to say that he rejected the power used, but it lurked and loomed over him fairly well. He shut his eyes and let his body submerge entirely, letting his thoughts end away immediately. There was no point in letting himself meltdown with thinking, he was supposed to be relaxing here and not in thought. For the next 15 minutes, he spared himself from his own droning thoughts.

After the soak, Kousou was dressed and brushing his hair down neatly, his appearance was often kept neat along with his attitude and manners. Those same locks that earned him looks and a mocking fan-club while at school, had been something that the arrancar women loved. They did not think it too long or too girly? He did not let any negativity stop him from keeping the hair at its ever growing length. Quite the opposite, any mocking made him determined to keep it for as long as he could.

This along with appearance wearing another new freshly cleaned pair of his fraccion attire was put on, while around his neck a small sash worn in a tie, something that his father had given him to wear once he'd gained his bankai. The Yuushin family mark worn on the outside of the scarf's edge, he felt more accomplished seeing himself in the mirror with it on, another tied at the end of his hair, bearing the mark of the Quincy as a mark that he'd received from his mother; she instructed him to wear it whenever he achieved a goal of his.

"It looks good on you Kou, those weird little scarves make your hair more visible." the voice soft and full of soft laughs as a pair of tanned arms wrapped around his midsection from behind.

Mila-Rose's slender, yet muscular frame pressed to the back of his lean body, her fingers idly rubbing against his stomach and one hand sliding through the ice blue locks of his hair. As her face appeared over his shoulder, the smile present seemed to be something Kou hadn't seen before. She was certainly happy about something and the shincy wasn't able to label just what it was.

Her touches were not sexual advances as much as they were just gentle petting, she rested against his back and let her face nuzzle into his hair. Unlike Apache, she made no attempt to hide that Kou had given her a nice feeling of ease that she did not have before. While she was just as likely to do something that Apache would, she was also more likely to show her true feelings.

"You really are a rarity Kousou, I'd have no one else this close to me that I could trust. I thought all males were useless, then I found that you were different so...I'm glad that you showed up." she spoke the truth about that situation.

She would never have released those pent up feelings and been able to relieve herself as fighting as she did with him. Sharing him was annoying perhaps, but she could understand that Apache and even Sun-Sun would similar releases as well. It was good that Aizen-sama had made sure he stayed here, it made all of this much easier on herself and the others, Kou was accessible at most times due to that.

Kou was blushing at her words, she was putting the truth out so casually about it and telling him how special he was? It almost made him feel guilty for the fact he'd be leaving at some point. He worried about this whole thing, but he couldn't let the thoughts haunt him, that much he knew for a fact.

'I musn't...I can't let this get to me.' he said as his flesh flushed a deeper red, her hug was genuine as seemed to be the words spoken.

He knew without the shadow of a doubt that she was speaking truth, he dared not say a single word. He didn't trust his voice right now, this was exactly the reason he was torn between leaving or not. Why did fate have to laugh at his situation?

**'Not so tough a decision kid, just decide whether you stay or go.' **Yami-kou did not see his entire reasoning behind the struggle, why think so hard?

_'It is not so easy since Kou's heart happens to be much bigger than you'll know. He gets involved with whoever comes into contact with him.' _a fact that Kaza knew from having lived in his inner-world, too sweet and to that it could be a failing.

Both thoughts were silenced by a gentle nuzzle to the side of his neck from Mila-Rose, as he felt her rubbing his stomach still before speaking.

"Well come on Kou, the dinner in your honor starts in 10 minutes. I came for you early to get you to come with me." she said before letting him go and moving to the door.

She gave him a small wink and disappeared from sight, while in a few minutes was followed by Kousou. All thoughts in a jumble, he went into the main dinner hall and sighed before heading inside. So many thoughts going through his head and yet he remained calm in his demeanor. Taking a few deep cleansing breaths he managed to keep himself together, being on edge was troublesome and so he would no longer think of it; he needed it not.

Finding himself in his seat, Kou came out of the mental stupor, with all eyes upon him.

"Are you well Kousou? Are you still troubled from our spar earlier this day?" Harribel's words were calm but obviously asking about his troubled look.

Kou's face flushed in embarrassment at the question, having an idea of just what he looked like.

"N-No Harribel-sama, I have just been thinking too much again. It happens to me often, when I look into something too much." the answer was directly true and was why he looked the way he did.

She seemed pleased with the response he gave her and nodded lightly, before continuing with what she had been saying prior; unbeknownst to Kou who had been thinking too hard to notice what she was saying about him this whole time.

"..and to our newest fraccion who in this short month and a half with us has dedicated himself to seeing our successes above his position as a captive has caught my attention. It is to this evening that I wish to pay him a small tribute, for his efforts towards growing: in his concerns for his duties, in his wishes to properly carry his weight while amongst our ranks, and in power so that he would better serve these efforts." her words had simply acknowledged all the sacrifice he put forth.

In her eyes they were the ultimate sacrifice...he was a captive who would be forced to do as he was told had he not did so willingly. Part of this sacrifice was towards his survival perhaps, but the heart that he put into this was beyond that. Commonly not one to observe such drive towards someone in his position, what she most admired was the will to persist despite what he was put through. Why did Kousou go so far? What was it that drew her fraccion to him, they took their time to share his company and share physical closeness with this boy.

There were so many questions that the Espada had put to thought and had no answers for, even with the fact that she knew her ladies never trusted males, as hollows they despised all males and followed her without question; while they still did this now...there was something else with them always, even Sun-Sun. That something was Kousou, as despite their regular demeanors carrying on, each had their moments of softness and she attributed this to one source; that was this young shincy boy in their presence right now.

Even with her understanding of natures and seeing right into Kousou, there was nothing that she could identify in his personality that showed what attracted her ladies to him. It had in fact if anything been something unwanted at first, that did not surprise her with Apache or Mila-Rose in the slightest given their natures were so similar. If either saw a quality they enjoyed in something it was pursued directly, but even Sun-Sun had been after his presence. Whatever Kou was, it was surprising that even the most refined in habits amongst her fraccion had become physically intimate with him.

As she watched Kou blush and look down from the words spoken, she saw it there slight embarrassment and a very humble spirit. What was it about this, she'd heard the statement used by Grimmjow another day in the hall when she questioned his attack on Kousou. He said it bluntly and rude, but it seemed to shine in this moment she witnessed Kou's meek actions.

_'Tch. You asking me something like that? It's because he's so weak and innocent, like a little wimp should be, but his will is undeniable.' _It was those words in her mind that made resonated with the moment.

So it was his innocence, something strange in purity that hadn't left his person and that purity defined by his will. She admitted that to herself, his will to strive for what he believed in and take the path that he thought best, it reminded her of something similar within her own personal code that she followed to the letter. A similar will...perhaps that what was Kou was so acceptable as a fraccion. While suspicious at first, she felt she could trust him, this was why she herself had regularly spoken with him at least two times a week (or said equivalent in Hueco Mundo) over a cup of tea.

He was indeed an enigma and even to her powers of observation; he was one thing that Harribel herself did not fully understand. Was there even a way to approach this properly? She really wondered how to proceed, her curiosity now was in this young man who had already forged 3 bonds unceremoniously with her fraccion; was that the only way to understand him? Talking with him only gave her a fraction of what she hoped to gain in understanding from this very strange boy.

With her examinations put to rest for now, Harribel had announced that he enjoy the meal prepared for him this night; it would signify his acknowledgment of growth and she briefly spoke of some plans to help his training. Though the feast was what was most important this night, it was the eve that he earned his bankai and that was a great cornerstone for him in the margin of growth. A surprising feat for his age that had not gotten him killed despite the very early attempt to gain this power.

He was very surprising indeed and those amazing abilities would not go unrewarded for such sacrifice was paramount and usually gained the greatest involved in future goals. He would help the world that could exist without the sacrifice of others. The dinner went on to be a joyous occasion, surprising to the fact that was how open Kousou was with each of them, sharing some attempts at humor from what he knew personally, for hours these attempts at humor from Kou and jabs taken at him idly by Mila-Rose, the occasional snappy comment from Apache livened it up. Sun-Sun remained refined and reprimanded them both, which often got a small chuckle from Kou and a responsive glare from both of the ones reprimanded. Harribel herself could not help but be amused and happy that they seemed so happy, surely these times would not last in the near future ahead of them with the coming winter as they prepared for war. When they went to battle with the shinigami and many a life would be lost for the world without sacrifices.

A battle that Harribel would prefer not to fight if it was a choice...how she would have preferred the option.

-Several Hours Later-

The festive meal had long since past and Kou was once more in his room, having awakened from his nap that was taken in an effort to recover some more energy from his earlier spar. He had no idea how effective the arrancar were truly without weapons, Harribel-sama had been a force that he could not contend with at all; even with his full array of powers at use. Remembering briefly how easily she overpowered him even when Hollowfied when using his shikai, she pushed him right into the use of his bankai and then all become a blur of how quickly he fell.

It was the facts that he put together, that despite the ability to summon his Bankai, he could not use it properly as the powers were vastly beyond anything he could consider. Certainly the output of reiatsu was tremendous and he had a new weapons he was not familiar with, the lack of his knowledge is what made it easy for him to be defeated.

"So...I must learn the basics of what powers I possess with this form, expand my field of understanding and then consider how things work. In theory if I can think this out, then give it a try...it should work better." these words obviously just thinking aloud.

As Kou went to the boiling teapot and sat down on the cushioned chair in front of it, he continued the thought. Attempting to visualize as much as he could remember from his loss earlier, it wasn't a big deal to him that he lost. He did after all attempt to wield something that he had no experience with in battle, such a move would cause anyone to lose. Kou thought nothing of the knock at the door and rose, he was hoping that it was Sun-Sun and they could share tea in part as they often did on a night like this. Taking with another keen mind would help him analyze the situation once he filled her in on the variables.

However opening the door had earned him a shocking surprise, as he found his superior standing before him with her arms resting idly at her sides. Her calm but calculative blue eyes resting upon him intently.

"Harribel-sama, what a surprise, what brings you here this time of evening?" his genuine surprise did not break his habit of using polite mannerisms when speaking with her. He hadn't figured why she had come, since normally she would come the following evening for tea.

"I have come with few questions Kousou, something that has caused my curiosity to rise once more in your human nature. We are so alike and yet so different; you Vizard and we Arrancar and these questions are a result of my wish to understand your people better." her words understandable, questions to pose about casual human behavior.

Nodding lightly to her, Kou stepped back and offered a kind gesture with his hand.

"Won't you come in, Harribel-sama? We can discuss this over tea, I was brewing some fresh to help my concentration on some thoughts. However, I can always think about that later; I shall answer your questions." it was fairly standard.

She'd come with questions in the past and he'd answered them, surprising but certainly not out of the ordinary. Kou was honestly glad to have company, it was almost strange not to have company for tea. He honestly preferred it and of course depending on the guest the talk could be more interesting and intellectual in nature.

As she sat down across from him and awaited the rise of steam from the kettle water, she thought over the order of the questions she wanted to ask and chose to begin as the kettle started to whistle. Once Kou started pouring their cups of tea, she chose to wait until he finished and was looking her in the eyes.

She thanked him for the tea and picked it up, taking the moment to sip it before setting it back down.

"Well the most interesting of questions I had for you, was how you define human innocence? The concept of it is somewhat perplexing and not very straight-forward. I'd like to know if you have a personal definition or understanding of this?" the question pointed out her concerns with the specifics attached.

The question wasn't easy to answer, but after a few moments of thought, Kou would give her what came to mind.

"There is never any one answer to that as far as I know Harribel-sama, but something that I come to understand of the meaning...I'd have to say that it would be a part of someone that remains unchanged despite whatever changes their exterior, way of thinking, or even demeanor. It is the one part of someone that seems devoid of negativity or perhaps...depending on the person, a negativity that cannot be altered. Perhaps best said as the part of a person that shines through as a defining trait, they are likely unaware of its existence and it is seen by others." this shot was the best that he could come up with.

Some moments passed as Harribel went over what he said in her mind, she gave a light nod to his definition. It was something that she could accept and in a way it was probably the reason that Kou didn't realize the effects on those nearest him now. It explained a lot towards his devotion and how he wouldn't find that he was betraying anything in his life; he was simply being guided by that innocence within his being.

It was something she admired and also saw was a weakness with him, he trusted in what he did and that he was doing what good that he could. He was not giving anything of his own away at stake and he was willing to sacrifice, almost blindly for what could matter most with it. It was a powerful thing and probably what helped his will to become so tempered; certainly a trait she respected.

"I see, interesting choice of words for it. My next question is: Do you consider bonds to be something fragile and simple to break or something that once is made connects you to another no matter what?" her questions were few today, but set wide to try and gain a better insight on his way of thinking.

Kou only paused for a moment, this question was not at all hard for him to think about; he knew where his heart lay on that.

"To me, a bond if very special and nothing easily broken. I wouldn't say that it's unbreakable as that depends on the bond and who its between; but it is something sacred that connects one to another and even if broken...there is something forever connecting the two even after the bond's passing. Something from within, it is not to be underestimated as a thought or ideal. I believe...that those who treat bonds as nothing but tools of control will find that their foundation is nothing but an illusion." his words spoken with a strength from within, his belief in bonds was certainly if anything without question deep.

This added another moment to her silence, his duty was unquestionably strong, bonds were highly important, sacrifice was something that was worth it if the belief is strong enough. A lot of his reflections were deeper than she thought, holding a fraccion in good respect was what made her successful with those she worked with. It wasn't about strength, but about forged bonds and how deeply rooted they were. Harribel was deciding that she was ready to reach out to Kousou, she could trust him to be true and try nothing funny. To her now he was a true partner in creating the world without sacrifice; perhaps not as much as Sun-Sun, Mila-Rose, or Apache...but certainly he had earned her admiration in his convictions.

Her silence had left Kou wondering if he said something foolish or funny? He hoped that he hadn't embarrassed himself, these were nothing more than his truths after all. What he felt to be self-evident as defining traits for who he was, it was what forged his pride of the Quincy, binding it to his duties as a Shinigami, and what kept his link to the hollows all focused towards one goal: meeting anything he set himself to.

"Kou my last question to you is personal, of a nature that you won't have to answer is too personal, do you understand?" the question was simple and directed to ensure that he wouldn't take it personal.

"Of course, thank you for offering that Harriel-sama." he was thankful, since she could have easily demanded the answer.

He awaited the question and she proceeded to ask the question. It seemed that no one could have seen the question coming, if anything else it was certainly unexpected and hit him like a literal ton of bricks.

"My question is about your relationships with the other fraccion, do you feel the bonds that you have forged are strong and as binding? Your bonds are clearly visible, so it has sparked my curiosity to this interest. Are these bonds between you strong?" she was not attempting to embarrass him, it was truth in wanting to know how close this coupling had brought them.

She saw the bonds they had and noted that she had nothing like this with Kou. He trusted her, he admired her, he harbored a crush or general liking of her. But still this bond was nothing as close as what he seemed to share with her fraccion, it wasn't out of envy but it was certainly out of wonder. Did their physical connection in the evening bring them as close as it seemed?

Kou was now a tomato red and looking down, it was out of shame? Not so much just really taken aback by the whole situation. The question was one of the biggest curves that he'd had in some time, his bond with those three arrancar women...it was as close as she was thinking. He felt for each of them in their own way, but none the less it was a feeling akin to adoration for each of a different kind. They had been forced and yet he did not choose to turn them away, it seemed to be due to his open heart and welcome to his affections.

"Um...well Harribel-sama, I can say that...we are for the intents and purposes closer. B-but..it was not just the act, but I suppose what became of us after that. Feeling a bond, a link, a responsibility to one another. We see each other and yet are as more.." he said it in his best words; since it was so confusing this was the best that he could do.

His response told her just how completely he meant it, so it was something of a responsibility? Though the way he spoke of it and blushed, it seemed to be more emotional than that. This was nothing she'd ever known and likely in thought, the first time that it actually had caught her interest completely.

"I see, thank you Kousou. Your answers were very informative." Harribel thanked him for his time and his answers.

While she sat there and contemplated something, since she trusted him as much as she did there was something that was coming to her mind. His closeness to her fraccion made it easier for him to work with them. She would be training him and wished for them to have a communication of a similar nature.

While she sipped her tea and considered what steps she could take to assist Kou better, Harribel found herself at ease. Entirely comfortable despite the silence and the occasional sign of Kousou's awkward feeling. She noticed her questions had left him reeling, it was amusing in a small way to see his reactions to them.

He was getting himself under control while she was amused but of course this was still the point of focus. Harribel was rare to show emotion of any kind, be it amusement or even a small smile. But she was showing both, it was a good sign really that if anything Kou was good for unwinding with as company.

As Kou finished his tea and set the cup down on the table his mind was still gentle, devoid of thoughts as he more or less sat there. Blushing ever so slightly he could not help but feel that Harribel-sama was anything other than wonderful, after all her praise of him at dinner and taking the time to stay after the tea and questions; it was all more than he expected. This was simply due to his crush, he was half expecting her to be different towards him some how, but she never was. There were no awkward moments and for that he was thankful, his crush would be kept quiet and be continued unattended. That was the plan for him, it was what he told himself every time that he'd seen her following.

She was his superior, an arrancar, and even the enemy. But his crush did not change...nor did his feelings for Sun-Sun, Apache, or Mila-Rose. He was involved with them and cared about their well being, he was almost literally taken by the enemy a fool binded by his choice of duty bound to crash and burn. If he was...then so be it, his convictions kept him going this far and he told himself that he wouldn't change them.

As Kou brought the kettle and both finished cups of tea to the sink area where he would wash them, he was too far gone in thought to do much more than wash the small dishes to a nice fit of perfection. Once finished he put them aside and looked back to see that Harribel-sama had still been in the room. He was wondering what kept her presence in the room, after all usually once tea ended his guest would either leave or depending on her mood (had it been Sun-Sun) stay for something more.

"Kousou, I have decided something while you were away and I wish to inform of my decision." these words spoken as she rose, each step taken towards him was nothing short of something monumental.

His heart gently began to race as she stepped towards him, he had no way of knowing what was on her mind, but he was almost hoping it was something more...the calmness before her made that almost impossible to tell what it was related to. But his silence and gentle nod spoke his feelings; it let her know he was ready to hear it.

"Kousou, I will look into these thoughts more, they are of significant interest to me. To believe that one's response is better due to a bond forged originally through physical coupling." she looked at his eyes and then offered him a soft pat on the shoulder before drawing away from him and bidding him goodnight.

The smile on his face spoke volumes of his happiness, it was to say a manner of being acknowledged by someone that you looked up to; this was half right in this case here, he also harbored a connection already. It was one way of having more than he expected really, in the pursuit of knowledge she asked him questions; while some were awkward it was alright to answer.

This helped him realize facts for himself of course, just how much in some way each of those arrancar women had come to make some significant meaning in his life; despite the origins of their bizarre relationships'. As he knew Harribel had left this meant he was alone and in time to think; it would be a good time to go over his battle again, to find out what presently he did wrong in the spar. That was just how he worked, calm and calculated whenever he got the chance.

The door eventually closed and Kou assumed he was alone, he started towards the couch where he could sit down and focus. Discussion was good and he had two other voices at which to do that with, those were of course his ever present powers. As he headed towards the couch, two arms slid around his waist from behind and started guiding him towards the wider bed styled region of the couch nearer the window.

"Now don't you think that you've had enough thinking for a while? You achieved something today Kou...and I intend to sample the success of your labors. Tomorrow we'll be sparring since its your free day at least until the afternoon, Aizen-sama will be checking your progress and he has no idea yet of your Bankai...I'm sure he felt it like we all did; perhaps he ever guessed on it. But no more talk now." the strength of the arms and gently rubbing along his sides seemed to clear things up, Kou knew who it was despite the darkness of the room.

(-Warning: Mature Content ahead-)

At some point the light in his room had become dependent upon the moonlight, but this did little to hide the scent that had become synonymous with Mila-Rose. She had something of an inviting spicy scent when she was excited, how could Kou really tell? He wasn't honestly sure when he began to notice it. Though he imagined it was a side-effect of all of the hollow reiatsu he'd been given in order to heal his body faster. Sure enough he had felt a little more durable after each time he came into contact with the bizarre methods of healing introduced by the arrancar.

As he was laid on his back, Mila-Rose was proudly mounted in his lap with a big grin on her face. Why was she so happy? He wasn't really sure as to why and of course as she leaned down to him, he rose up and met her halfway with a kiss. He had really come to accept her at times rough affection, the teasing, the embarrassment that came with it. It wasn't honestly so bad once you were used to it and to be serious she had calmed down since he stopped being as well and full of manners as he often was. He let it slip just a little bit when he was around her or Apache due to their preference.

She was done speaking and thought about what fun they should have tonight and how, she took care to slowly remove her top while grinding down on his lap in a teasing manner. She enjoyed putting the pressure on him, to feel his body warming up against hers that just made her feel really feminine. While she knew it to her core, it was getting to enjoy enticing another, but most of all it was feeling sexy.

For Kousou it was always a different trip whenever he was with one of them, for him it was to get over his meekness. For he knew Mila-Rose was playful but enjoyed being on top, Apache was one for her dominance, and Sun-Sun was situational; with the few times that they'd been together she was mostly on top but had allowed him to lead once, before taking over midway. It wasn't all that surprising to him since the traits of one another were bound to rub off; when you worked/lived/shared space near or with one another it was very bound to happen.

"Jeez Kousou, I'll never know how you find even a free moment to think, let me take your full attention." she said as she lay her body against him.

Now pressing her muscular form against his body, her face leaning closer to his and for a moment her eyes resting upon his. How like a victim he was since she found whenever she become more into the mood, he smelled that much better whenever he was even the slightest bit intrigued by her. Capturing his lips with her own, Mila-Rose pressed the soft kiss and slid her fingers back through his long locks.

Having grown to love the taste of his lips, Mila-Rose loved to kiss him whenever she got the chance. It was how supple and soft they were against her own, just the same how soft his body felt to the touch against hers. His hands were roaming again, she could feel his fingers over her back and up her sides; it was nice to be desired even if it was by the meek boy. She could sense the intention and his wish to make her feel good, she knew that since their first time together he'd been steadily growing to like the activity as much as she did.

She could feel his body's waking desire to be active, feeling a lump under her clothed heat made her grin wider, finally he was ready for play. Careful to consider that he'd had a rough day already, she would play it soft tonight with him and just enjoy something a little less rough than what she preferred. He enjoyed any of them either way, but of course now the point was to ensure in the morning he could spar with her. But of course pleasure before business...that was why she'd come just after she was sure Harribel-sama had left his room.

(-End Mature Content-)

As Mila-Rose and Kousou shared their evening together, the next day would only hold more thoughts in focus; what lay ahead of young Kousou's path was only more difficulty as things continued on their path. His duties as a fraccion and forgetting he was a captive seemed to be part of the result. Something that in his own understanding was not an issue, however when faced with the problem there was no way to know for sure; there was only enough to know that the road of difficulty had only begun.

"He's the perfect subject, Gin...if you would in the morning go get young Kousou, he can test the strength of our newest bretheren. We will see if Wonderweiss is strong enough to hold his special rank. He would be as fitting as I expect, but to be sure a live exercise against a Vizard will do." the order was given and given nodded with that same grin.

Ever changing both Gin and Tousen knew that if that boy had any hope, it would be in Aizen's mercy and an order given to Wonderweiss to stop. For it would be Tactics versus a very estranged form of combat presented by Wonderweiss, would Kou survive? Only the new day would tell.

(End Chapter)

Sorry bout that heh, I cut out in the good stuff, but the reason being that I don't want these to be too full of mature content :o, I have quite a few of these scenes so far; I want to keep it evened out with a good chapter or two with as little of the love scenes as would be alright. Well for those who still read I hope you enjoyed it.

Till the next time I bid you adieu

-Quentix


	11. Chapter: Gains of Sacrifice

A/N: Moving into the future of this story, things have been changing all along the way, deciding what will happen, why it will take place, and most importantly how. Things continue to turn as my mind thinks these things up and for this I've come with another chapter for all of you readers, you will enjoy it I think. This situation brings Kousou into a major issue, if you thought his earning that Bankai was difficult, wait until you see the first opponent of his Bankai.

Without further adieu I bring you to the tale, onward with the story.

(End A/N)

Chapter X: Gains of Sacrifice and their Challenges

As word spread through Las Noches, it seemed once more that life would throw him into the spotlight. There was very little time to avoid the true reason he'd been there. Kousou managed to avoid serious wounds by serving his Espada while under Aizen's thumb; he could see that the calculating man had plans far beyond his own mind's understanding. Whatever it was…it was not good for anyone, he could see that the Espada were here for various reasons and for their wild personalities, he came to an even conclusion: Aizen's power was frightening enough to force each one into their place and keep fighting amongst them to a minimum. It wasn't that he was at all foolish enough to think he could defeat him…but to stand before him at his level even now? It was to seek death.

As he felt the nibble on the back of his neck and the arms curling around his waist as he felt her drawing him back to her chest, the proud lioness bit on his shoulder and nuzzled against his skin. Her playful actions one sign that he'd caught onto, she had begun doing this more and more with him each time they had been together. He knew that it meant one thing: closeness. She was lazily entwined with him and didn't want to rise, she hoped that he would be still; did he need to do anything? She would keep him busy if he didn't, she had been crafty and nabbed him the instant she knew the new day started. Having never broken her little unspoken deal with both Apache and Sun-Sun, she was learning how best to bend the rules in her favor.

"Tell me Kou…do you have anything to do today?" she hoped the answer was no, this was her day with him, though she doubted the time would be as forgiving, the question was placed to see if it would be as little time as usual.

"It is Aizen-sama today who wishes to test my growth again, apparently word of my achieving Bankai was something that reached his ear yesterday." he knew that he would have been found out in no time, this just proved it to him.

A soft grumble escaped her lips as she drew him back against her again.

"I do not mean to be rude Mila Rose-san, but may I do some quick stretches this morning? I must be ready and limber for I know that this will be a test of the power that I have been granted from my zanpakuto." he knew in short that it would be of a training variety.

This would not be something that he would be walking away from, as he knew to this point his opponents had been on and off Ichimaru Gin and Kaname Tousen, his only means of survival had been their taking it easy on him and fighting at his best. He had overcome his earlier weakness with a mass of desperation that had pushed him to grow.

Ignoring Kou's request and stretched out her back lightly, arching her frame while still spooning with him, the action subtly brought his body to arch along with hers. Kou was blushing by now, realizing that she intended to stretch along with him. It kept her happy while complying with Kou's request. With her arms securely around his waist, the awkward stretching continued until Kou felt it was complete.

After about 3-4 minutes of awkward body positioning the stretching was done, while Mila's yawning voice spoke lightly in his ear the next most important thing.

"So when do you have to go?" the question housing a myriad of her intentions depending upon what time she had to do it with.

He pondered the thought for a few minutes and then realized that it was a mere few hours away, and with how fast time went here that wasn't a lot of time for him to do much with. Having to eat and warm up, he'd have very little time here.

"Just a few hours to prepare myself, today will be different from the other times. My opponent will not be those who hold back. If anything like my previous opponents, then I'd bet on Espada level, Aizen-sama is a most expectant scientist." he knew well that these 'observations' were along those lines.

He was the guinea pig who would do what was required so as not to get hurt, this would be a beating and he'd have to survive. Mila understood what Kou was saying, this was nothing pretty in knowing the truth.

Kou awaited her response to his words and what she chose to do was roll him over and lay out against him, while looking into those innocent eyes, always so adorable and never offering anything but a warm heart. What kind of a man was he? She was not sure of that but he was one that she enjoyed being around. However, thinking about his future she sighed, he really would be in trouble unless she saw him ready for this battle.

"Get up then, I'm going to make sure that you're ready for your trial." her words suddenly growing serious with her decision.

As Mila Rose started to dress her mind drifted over what kind of opponent he might have, judging by the kind of man Aizen-sama was the fact remained that Kou wouldn't walk away from this one. He might well need to be carried, that was something that she hoped not to see.

Kousou rose and headed to the bathroom for his time to refresh himself and dress, it wouldn't take him long to be ready. As Kou had already masterfully had things ready for himself the previous night before Mila had claimed his full attention. He thought back to words that he remembered his father saying during combat training the previous year; the words had startled him a fair amount but now rung true more than ever.

'There will be a time where you could well die my son, in those times you must remember that nothing can be held back. By your very nature to conserve and prepare well, but at times that is not enough and when that is all but done...throw all of your mannerisms out of the window, dive deeply into yourself and claim the power welling up within; it is the greatest will to survive and it will save you.'

Warnings such as that were ominous but no less important to listen to, he knew that his father had done such a thing before, how else had he survived his battle against that Vasto-Lorde? Kousou would never had existed if his father never lived. A knock on the door broke his train of thought and gained his attention.

"Did you fall asleep in there? Come on! We're going to get you warmed up Kou, get out here!" Mila's voice full of impatience and something he hadn't heard before so prevalent, some form of worry or concern.

A few minutes was all it took for Kou to finish up and get outside, he was all stretched out thanks in a funny way to Mila's form by now, he seemed to be in a strange zone of the mind. After a few minutes, they were off in the desert and without much thought, Kou immediately activated his zanpakuto. Wordlessly, Kazashiryuu transformed into her shikai state, the chokuto already with a swirl of wind around the epicenter.

Mila gave him a grin and popped her neck lightly, offering no quarter to him, disappeared in a blur of sonido before bringing her sword down on him. Meeting Kou partway she smiled at him with a sadistic grin and pressed harder, releasing heavier amounts of pressure. If Kou were to fight a stronger arrancar, then he'd need to be in a mood that would suit it.

Kou retreated rather quickly, using shunpo to pull back while he found Mila stayed right upon him. Her broadsword surging with her reiryoku as she released another violent slash from his right, reacting on instinct Kou caught the slash and met her with the equivalent force of his wind. Through his fight with Kazashiryuu, he'd learned more about condensing the storm wind around the center of his chokuto. With this in mind he was able compensate for her sheer force, this showed as he moved his blade to the right of her broadsword and swept in a rising arc towards her face.

Mila ducked under the blade and felt Kou's foot slam into her midsection, sliding back into the air she watched him move onto the offensive. Immediately the sand exploded under the contact another clash between her reiryoku and Kou's wind, as the combatants met each other blow for blow while Kou attempted new things during the battle.

As this warm up continued, Kou attempted variations of things: from wind charged with his reiryoku to kido-arrows on her. He found himself capable of doing so with an opponent that he was about on par with. He noticed that he was able to withstand Mila's current force and wasn't struggling as much as he did the very first time that they met. Had so much time passed or simply had he grown stronger during this period? He knew it was the growth, though Mila connected a vicious punch to the side of his face despite his catching her slash.

"Ha! Kou what happened? You were doing good till you zonked out on me!" her grin full of her intent and that was right now blood thirsty.

Kou rose and shook the sand off of him, moving back to the attack via shunpo. As he brought the chokuto a low quick thrust, once Mila Rose parried it to her left, he twisted the hilt of his sword and brought it down in an overhead slash; once more the blow was blocked by her broadsword. Bringing his zanpakuto back to his right side while in mid-spin, he sensed Mila's movement towards the seemingly open spot. At the last second he caught the tip of her broadsword on the flat of his blade and with a smirk, activated the kido-spell on hilt of his sword.

"Hado#58: Tenran(Orchid Sky)!" the sudden explosion of whirling winds used to engulf Mila was enough to shoot her back in a whirling mass straight into the sand. While the spell still drilled her into the sand, Kou had leapt back and kept his senses all focused on her location; not to much of a surprise did she release a powerful wave of reiryoku and destroy the spell engulfing her.

Digging out of the sand, the arrancar woman looked at Kou with an irritated look, sure the spell didn't really do her any harm but it certainly pissed her off. She did hate that one thing about him and that was the fact that he was so damned crafty at times, he often had a plan up his sleeve and it usually worked.

"That was pretty lame, all it did was piss me off." she said as her skin gained a soft glow to it, immediately the pressure building in the air around Kou and the surrounding skies as she raised her reiatsu to a higher level; she was going to push this to a higher level. He still had some time, they hadn't been out here more than an hour or so max she imagined.

Kou released a matching amount of pressure on the air, it was an amount that only seemed to improve things in the mood, he noticed that Mila smirked and used sonido once more in her movement towards him; Kou disappeared in a preemptive maneuver to where he sensed her headed. The result of this was a resounding clash of the meeting powers that persisted for another few clashes, since Kou kept on the ball and remained close while slashing at her; he was surprisingly not winded by these choice of actions.

The spar was not going unwatched as Harribel caught wind of the reiatsu the instant it rose, she knew that Mila Rose was likely helping the young shincy prepare for his trial today. With Apache and Sun-Sun off on a mission this left things solely in the remaining fraccion's hands. Serving as a warm up, she was impressed with the improvement in Kou's focus during battle. She'd noted that he was dealing well with physical blow stricken by arrancars, before he could barely take a blow. Mila Rose was either number one or a close second for one who enjoyed physical combat.

It was a good warm up by it had nothing on the fact that his next opponent was someone that even she worried about, Wonderweiss did not have a discernable level of strength that she could read; nothing beyond the fact that he was as powerful as an Espada. His true strength likely dwarfed even the number 4's power, Kou didn't stand a thread of a chance.

"You cannot allow yourself to fall Kousou..." her words went unheard as she watched her fraccion crossing what she imagined was the last blow of the spar.

Mila Rose looked at her stomach where the mark had formed, it was only a thin line of blow forming but it became clear that Kou was strong enough to cut at her least hierro. She smiled, since before he hadn't been able to pierce her skin; she knew he'd be apologetic to her the instant he saw it. And just like clockwork, Kou saw the wound and immediately sheathed his Zanpakuto while rushing to her side.

"Oh no, I didn't mean to cut you Mila! My Apologies, I should have been more focused." his words were cut by her hand to his mouth.

"Enough Kousou, I am a warrior, you know I am fine with a tiny scratch like this." she said before wrapping her arms around his waist and bringing him flush against her body.

It was enough that Kou stopped and was looking at the seriousness of her eyes and blushing lightly, why the intent look? His thoughts were scattered and it was the effect that Mila hoped for, she drew her face over his shoulder as she squeezed him lightly in her arms.

"I have done all that I can...come back to me...to us in one piece alright? You're warmed up enough, don't you dare allow yourself to fall here." her words full of a threat, it was all she could focus on so as not to appear weak.

Kousou was touched by her concern for him, even if showed in an odd way. He knew she was trying to maintain her image before him and it made him grin in a silly manner. Overall it just helped him make sure that he would not make a mistake while in this spar; he couldn't afford to disappoint anyone in Karakura town...his parents, his friends, and even now the arrancar women he'd been close with.

He gave her a warm hug in response to her squeeze and decided it best to go now, his going to meet with Aizen and this new trial needed to be over and through with. Kou felt her draw back and lean in to kiss him, something that he met partway and returned in light. What was happening to him was exactly what many worried about, the possible beginnings of Stockholm syndrome sinking in on the victim.

-Some minutes later, on the way to the Grand Battle Hall-

His mother and father's warnings about battle and experiences of this kind, his father had once given him this long speech on being captured. He never thought that one day it would have happened, well how wrong he was right?

"I suppose you had an insight on this dad, that speech...keeps me strong." these words said as he found himself before the grand set of doors.

With a deep breath he stepped up to the over-sized doors and pushed the left one open before moving inside. He was not prepared for what he found inside. His eyes slowly widening at the sheer changes that had been done and how fast? It had been less than one week since he had been to this room. The occasional checking of his improvements were things that were standard at least up to 3 times in one week, but never fewer than at least once a week. Hearing Gin's voice broke his trance of staring at the room.

"Yo Kousou, you gonna sit there and stare?" the kitsune-faced man spoke with that same grin never leaving his face.

Kou came back to his senses and moved towards the center of the room, what were all of these large pillars doing around the room? The odd shaped surfaces that seemed to be scattered which now filled this once empty room.

"Welcome Kou-kun, you might be wondering about the room's vast changes. Do not let them enter your mind, I would like you to meet your opponent today. This is Wonderweiss, our newest brother-in-arms and I would like you to test his worth. It will be interesting to see his powers, I will only say do your best against him." after a knowing smile he spoke one set of words that Kou immediately learned to dread.

"Let the match Begin." for the instant that Aizen had finished speaking, he found Wonderweiss's gaze slowly coming to his own.

"Slash with-Gah!" Kou immediately responded to the arrancar's hand tugging his hair to the side with a swift kick to the side of Wonderweiss's neck, helping the blond youth's face to the ground.

Leaping backwards he wordlessly released his shikai form and tried to keep his eyes on the boy, he hadn't seen him move...was the difference between he and his opponent so great? It happened once again, though he caught Wonderweiss the instant before he got too close; this time sending a quick hado spell at him.

"Hado#31: Shakaho(Red Fire Shot)!" firing a sizable blast from his hand, it struck Wonderweiss in the face as he slid just past the arrancar's left, feeling Wonderweiss's eyes were still on him. No effect? He knew just how much trouble he was in once more...this was going to be a league up, his kido didn't have any visible effect on his foe.

Thinking fast he unleashed a whirlwind mixed with his reiryoku point-blank on Wonderweiss as he turned to him again, while the wind had no effect it was all he hoped for.

"Kyah!" activating the silent blast, he activated his destructive burst on the arrancar in an attempt to buy him a single moment. He knew it would do nothing, but as he released heavier pressure as his reiatsu built up; he was already acting on his next three steps in what he could do.

Though for all the actions taken, Kou would find a hand idly slapping him into the ground.

"Haoohh!" Wonderweiss's peculiar sound came as of the following result of his hitting Kou with a Bala charged fist.

While his action was not planned, the effects proved to be great. Kou was up within moments, looking somewhat bruised from the impact. He was no worse for the wear and could hardly believe that nothing he'd done up till now had done anything to his opponent. He threw the conservation idea out of the window and turned it up another level, donning his hollowfication in the next instant.

Wonderweiss had moments only to blink, suddenly as Kou appeared in front of him again and struck the side of his body with the increases strength of a reiryoku charged whirlwind; knocking the blond arrancar into the air. Not stopping there, the shincy was suddenly above the still rising body with a fully charged attack on the end of his zanpakuto.

"Kadou Kyuutai (Vortex Orb)!" the attack hitting point-blank and ripping across the arrancar's body with its terrible force, while Kou still gave no quarter and was charging a cero in the shape of an arrow; as his bow was drawn back along its string; he held the shot and watched as a blur came shooting from the blast he'd ignited in midair.

Like nothing had happened Wonderweiss was upon Kou and wildly swinging his fists at him, however fully energized by his hollowfication Kou was able to dodge the blows with ease while still charging the cero. The instant that the blond had missed another wild swing of his arm, Kou took the advantage and kicked him in the ribs with his right leg, while hooking the side of his head with the left foot.

"Cero." was all Kou said as he fired the condensed spiritual blast into the face of the arrancar, letting the sudden release of such a powerful shot blow him backwards in the air.

While Kou was maintaining a very forward method of attack and was employing his every skill to survive; he was watched with great amusement by the enigmatic Aizen, who made note of his guest's improvement in skill and technique after what 'training' he'd been receiving: which had mostly been rough housing from Gin and Kaname, the boy always took something away from the combat. His power gains had been surprising as well, but nothing that Aizen spoke of. What he was most interested in was his Bankai, the boy had developed the ability to summon it and had some training; as reported by Harribel though nothing that extensive. A few weeks with an occasional use of the form would not allow for much experimentation, he wanted to see the boy's ingenuity in action.

"Hado Isshi#63: Raikoya(Thunder Roar Arrow)!" With little time to charge the kido arrow, he released the focused blast unto the smoldering smoke that was still falling in place; causing a more violent explosion in the instant he struck.

It did seem that he was only beginning, as he removed his mask and gripped Kazashiryuu tightly.

"Ban Kai!" as Kou spoke the words, his reiatsu filled the room with tremendous pressure; soaring beyond what power he held as something of a lieutenant.

The navy reiryoku flooded every corner of the room, rising in the form of a large thunderhead cloud, outlined by a dark golden tint the power continued roaring. While it had no affect on the inhabitants of the room, Gin seemed to be amused by the growth of the boy.

"My my, if this one is given more time to sprout, he might become a little nuisance." the words were meant as more of a joke, with some hidden undertones of course.

As the raw energy began to die down, the outline of the 50 meter chinese dragon filled the space of dispersing energy. From the new mist forming beneath the serpentine shape; as a whole the dragon was probably the biggest spectacle to behold at the moment. Wonderweiss had by now emerged with only some scratches, but found himself looking in amazement at the stark scarlet of the dragon which silently looked at her opponent.

"Bankai... Daibaishin no Sansai Kazashiryuu (Grand jury of the Flood & Storm, Wind Dragon)!" no sooner had his words been spoken, did he meet Wonderweiss halfway in a clash of torrential winds and rain.

As Kousou made use of the new hand-spears that he was wielding, he casually deflected what was Wonderweiss's basic swipes. As he noted the arrancar didn't know how to throw a proper punch and sort of flailed his body around. Though it honestly didn't matter given his tremendous strength. It was all the reason he released his Bankai, he decided not to teach him anything hand to hand. Since with such a mentality this child could learn things by watching. Though he knew better than to let himself get hit again, between the strength he currently wielded and his hollowfication...he felt he could do something to him. He got nothing but small and minor bruises so far, that was what troubled him; this was no doubt a secret weapon that Aizen had planned.

The bout continued and appeared to be a little more even, as Kou met Wonderweiss blow for blow with his hand spears; those viewing him knew that he was using nothing more than brute strength now, it was an unusual tactic for the shincy. It was one that Aizen imagined would be ending any minute now, he simply waited for the dragon to do something as he doubted such a powerful beast was just for show.

"Hahaha!" Wonderweiss's laughs were full of a strange joy, he was enjoying this strange game that he was playing. Full of a need to catch this boy who kept evading his attempts at him, for some reason the boy moved and he couldn't be touched. Why was that so? It was enough to make Wonderweiss work harder in that regard.

"Enrai(Distant Thunder)!" the sudden attack called out as Kou battled Wonderweiss's hand to the side with the left hand spear and thrusted the second one into his chest.

A blow which sent the arrancar shooting into the ground with tremendous force, was soon followed up by another attack.

"Banrai(Heavy Thunder)!" once more, the attack called forth as Kazashiryuu's massive claw slammed into the new crater where Wonderweiss now lay, with the force of thunder the blow was stricken.

While Kou watched the massive dragon arm raise back into the air, the incredible thunderhead, by which the dragon was mounted on had rumbled with low thunder and began to rain. It was enough that even such a spacious , the rainfall filled its entirety as it fell and the small rumble of thunder signaled the coming storm's rain would be picking up.

"Haoo..." the low call from the hunched over boy as he watched his target moving, the feeling of irritation filling the arrancar with reason to smash the boy until he didn't move anymore.

"The weather forecast are whirlwinds and lightning, caution is advised." he said as he flash stepped over to the pit where Wonderweiss shot out of.

Casually looking his way, Kou watched his attack and saw the linear pattern in it, this allowed him to sidestep the speedy attack and slam both spears into his back; forcing him face first into the ground again. While Kou took off for the sky, Wonderweiss quickly followed through use of rudamentary sonido. Kou rolled his body to the right of the dive meant for him and turned with an electrically charged blow to the back of the blond once more, earning a cry of some sort from the arrancar as he shot towards the ground.

" Hyakurai (Hundred Thunderclaps)!" as soon as he called the words he attacked in that instant, moving like something of lightning and hammering the blows into Wonderweiss's body, the countless blows that were landed sent greater surges of energy through the body of the child-like enemy he had.

Using the last of the charge in his hand spears he batted the boy's body into the air and leapt after him, gathering the reishi for the next assault, literally now using the atmosphere's own charges to build up more power within the light of the spear; the tips now glowing with an eerie green light. It marked the moment perfect for the next attack.

"Arashi Tokkan (Tempest Lightning Attack)!" the next blow stricken as he finished the sentence, looking up at Kazashiryuu; the final blow of the assault was coming in that instant, one he hoped would put the arrancar down for more than a few seconds.

Both claws rising for the last blow to be stricken, the fu dragon's claws gathered a mysterious glow and were thrust forward towards the still falling body of Wonderweiss.

"Yuuen Nihyakuhatsuka (Grand End of the Storm Period)!" like fluid poetry, the surging attack struck violently into the mass of the arrancar's body, forcing his body to curl around the energy as it shoved him forcefully into the ground.

Kou hoped that blow had slowed him down, since he found himself running out of steam; using this much power was starting to run his body ragged and he knew it.

'Just one option kid, use it now!'

The voice was right, Yami knew just as well as he had, that combining the strongest of his powers all at once would be the best way to end this with his survival. It happened in the next instant, Kou's mask was formed and drawn onto his face; causing a drastic raise in his reiatsu, as the navy blue and dark golden outlined reiatsu took the shape of a massive crow he took notice of Wonderweiss.

The arrancar had risen from the crater with those eyes on him directly, piercing his soul as the shrill cry of anger came from the childish Espada-level blond.

"Haaoowwaaahhh!" the cry was accompanied by a powerful boom of the pressure that he generated...this was an Espada-level power and Kou realized he was nothing before its might.

But the screaming was silenced as the large chinese dragon batted the tiny blond into the air, where a navy blue streak battered into his body, from all directions hitting with the fury of the storm: wind shredding his clothing and skin, lightning running currents through him, and the heavy droplets of rain sharpened by Kou's resolve.

As Kou tore into Wonderweiss's body before he could react, he was almost sure he was doing nothing; despite hitting the body with everything that he had.

"Kaza!" calling the Dragon's name earned a fist in the form of wind to smash the boy's body into the ground, while Kou rushed in on the blond, he knew that the instant was upon him; all or nothing.

When all seemed like Kou might emerge without anything serious, in the blink of an eye that thought was put to rest. As Kou's eyes widened as he felt the hand inside of him, suddenly trying to find its way to the exit; Kou felt nothing but rage filling him. Hatred of the darkest kind, the purest scorn filling him as he clutched the blond's wrist and stopped the hand from trekking deeper into him.

"Haoohh! Huh?" the instant confusion that filled Wonderweiss's mind the instant he felt one of them...another arrancar in front of him was the final mistake he'd make.

As the fury of Kou's rage was unleashed in a brilliant blaze of dark navy and golden cero; released from the tip of his newly bird-shaped mask, in that single moment the inhuman cry of the Raven was heard.

"Hado Yuushin Kyuu(9): Seki Karasu (Pulse Raven)!" an attack that hadn't been used prior was used point blank; as Kou thrusted both hand-spears into the back of the attack, only a full on explosion of reiryoku, electricity, and wind appeared to remain in its wake; an instant that it was given off and the moment it struck. It was like a glistening icicle that fell to the ground and shattered into dozens of pieces without a fragment remaining.

The room was a disaster zone without a clear sign of what was the result of the supposed spar, only as the dust began to clear did an amused Aizen decide that it was alright to end the match.

"Very well done Kou-kun, you survived what test I had placed before you. Congratulations, you are free to go for the day...get some rest, as you'll be tested in time." a dismissive and casual tone taken towards the teen that he had yet to even see; that had no bearing on the fact that he lived.

The blue haired boy was in shambles, laying unconscious at the center of the crater that he pushed Wonderweiss's body to create. All of his toiling had done little more than ruin the attire that the blond wore and give him a lone single dash of blood from a surprising wound. In all the desperation he had managed to pierce the hierro of a very superior foe.

While he was left in the wake of the devastation, his current keeper made herself known to the remaining commander in the room. While Aizen had left and Tousen took wonderweiss away to see that his attire was cleaned up and the few wounds he'd suffered were tended; Gin had remained looking over the downed shincy with that trademark kitsune smirk of his. It always made him almost unreadable, there was no sure way to know just what he was ever feeling by just looking at him.

"Ichimaru-sama, is my fraccion still breathing?" the question was more of a means of breaking the silence, she knew very well that Kou was alive and had just lost consciousness.

"Why of course he is...that's some mean power he wields, very refined for having it only a little less than a week. Would that be your handiwork?" he asked it, still grinning as if she had cheated by training Kousou.

She had by now moved down to see his position, even now he clutched his weapon ever ready, she was impressed with his overall gains through his own personal sacrifice. He adapted well to things on hand it seemed, she was starting to like seeing this form of his growth and the patterns, it reminded her of a life in the desert of Hueco Mundo.

"I did take some time to train him, but he is still premature, he has much he can still strive for. Despite his improvement, while exemplary, his regular power is barely up to the par of my other fraccion; he has a ways to go before he will be ready." her words were as expected, to the point and sparing nothing despite the growth.

Gin eyed her calmly and simply persisted on his choice of commentary.

"So cold as always Harribel, why not let the boy rest? He's had a trying period with Wonderweiss. I'm surprised he wasn't punched full of holes given his weak level." the words obviously baiting a response from her.

Harribel wasn't phased by the choice of words, she simply pointed out what she'd said before.

"He is a gifted child, nearly at the level of my fraccion, and with his Bankai is powerful enough to challenge their released forms full power. With more training, he may yet prove to be their match. That ingenuity is likely why he survived." again the information given with little emotion, but facts were facts.

Gin couldn't argue that what she'd spoken had been debatable, he survived being thrown in against someone far beyond his league; that was saying something.

"Well you can take him away, Aizen Taicho has had his fill of watching the carnage. Be seeing ya." Gin said idly before turning, in his usual way he left with little in his wake except dust from his flash step.

With nothing left to be said, Harribel whisked Kousou away from the crater his body had made and left with a single motion of sonido. It was time that he rested and with the damage that he took, she knew that he'd be down for a great number of hours...how the human body was so frail.

-6 Hours Later-

Eyes over his resting body were wrenched with some kind of emotion, it seemed that Mila had expected more from him than this. He had come back in shambles, brought to his bed after his wounds had been tended by the medics and still he lay asleep as if he'd been destroyed. Was his fight so bad? His opponent so brutal that all of the skills he possessed had failed him?

"Tch, what are you still doing here?" the voice coming from the door as Apache came in to check on Kou's condition, while she wasn't offended by Mila Rose's presence, she didn't want to show her anger towards his situation as it were with someone present.

"If you forgot the way this works, the day is mine with him, yet he ends up useless to me. I'll not let him get out of this once he's awake..." Mila's words were prompt, she had been something close to worried about him; but expected for him to be alright and yet this is the result.

Apache smirked at the way she spoke and immediately accused her of what she herself was guilty of.

"Hah! You're going soft aren't you? You are worried about him, you want to know when he'll wake up and you don't feel he's okay so you're keeping vigil." her words hit right to point, Mila made a face and grinned back at her.

Suddenly her admitting it wouldn't be so bad, since she could see the way she said it, how easy to see through Apache it was at times like this.

"And you would know these feelings as well because you feel them...wow Apache, I didn't think you'd start caring for him that way. I will admit it simply, my little shincy is mine to hold and protect; its only natural to feel worry over something one lioness cannot be sure of. But what of your reason?" she admitted it, though it had its circumstances met, she hid the fact well that she felt genuine worry.

Meanwhile Apache had turned all sorts of colors, her eyes full of twisted emotion some wishing to get revenge on the lioness comrade at the moment; with no way to shift what she'd said, it was a true statement.

"...Just shut up Mila Rose!" She yelled before turning and stomping off, she would have to remind her who had Kou closest; this was what she would do through her choice of actions. As she left, for once she decided to be patient, if only on this subject.

Sun-Sun was the only one of the three who kept to herself, her concern was slight if any, given she had the least attachment of them all to Kousou. He was a comfort that she desired from time to time, but by no means one that she felt the need to be near. If he passed it would be a loss to her and that she could admit, but this was nothing in comparison to her fellow fraccion and their own developing feelings for the unconscious shincy.

- 3 hours later -

As the passage of time was nothing to the sleeping shincy, deep within his consciousness he felt himself drifting in darkness; as if some void had yet opened. When he finally opened his eyes, he felt warmth against him and knew immediately by the closeness that it was Mila Rose. She had stayed with him this whole time?

There was no time for him to question what was happening as he felt her arms tighten around his midsection as she adjusted her body against him. Sensing he was awake some moments later, despite his silence she just remained against him without any words.

"So you got yourself mesed up anyway, all that warming up and training didn't help you much did it? You're not going to disappoint me like this again Kousou, I'll be seeing to it that you're stronger than this point, you'll eventually be a match for me; I'll expect no less!" she exclaimed this last point, it wasn't for him to answer just to know that it was going to happen.

Kissing the side of hear neck and biting it gently, Kou was quick to pick up what she wished for. As he came to understand some of these subtle signals from her, the way she spoke and her lack of humor told him this was almost a means of her showing comfort; closeness for them both. He couldn't realize just what this was doing to his mind, he was falling victim to the stockholm syndrome and was practically by now its utter slave. While he kept his convictions, he had still been seduced by his captivity into seeing things from the view of those he was taught to steer clear of.

Yet here he was, not only fraternizing with arrancar but now, involved in a relationship with three different women. He didn't want to know what his parents would think of him now, how this had become so much more complicated than it needed to be; there was no telling at just how this would turn out; but somewhere inside he knew he'd be dealing with it when it came right down to it.

(=-Content Mature from here on in, skip to next set if to skip-=)

Becoming more aggressive in her desire for his attention, Mila placed him on his back once more, setting herself resting in his lap with her hands running through his hair, making sure she was in constant contact with his body; it seemed as if she could not get enough of feeling him out. The way his skin pulsed with life, the knowing just how fragile he was in her arms was a strange way of feeling protective of this weak boy; it amazed her as to how he could generate such power...in truth enough to give her an incredible struggle if not worse and yet this was the extent of his being.

Whenever lacking the power he was this gentle boy who warranted much attention; that she couldn't get enough of having...there was nothing that made sense. He smelled of prey and a predator, he enticed her in ways that any other pitiful male would have otherwise ended up a victim before her. He was something special and in ways she could not describe, she was warmed by he contact with him; in a way that made the physical miniscule in comparison.

For once her actions seemed to be somewhat slow, compared to the typical nature of their encounters, her kisses were gently given in a trail lining the side of his neck, while her body lined his in a soft rub of flesh, while still she was dressed, what of her bare skin touched him now tingled and she delighted at the feeling. No matter how thick her hierro was, it felt alive when pressed to this boy; all it meant to her was that he was special.

As the thrill raced through her body she rolled her hips against his, pressed cloth panty to the modest boxers that he wore; she could feel the heat building within her. Using her free hand she grabbed the hem of his boxers and lowered them while pressing a little more so into him, making sure that he could feel the building heat within her core; it was just the way that she wanted.

His hands almost desired the freedom to roam, but there was no chance at that, with her impatience growing once again. He found that he was holding onto her hips, so as not to be pressed back completely to the bed just yet, thought that seemed to be inevitable response to her pressure on him.

"You've learned well." Mila Rose said with a grin, since he was still holding her waist as securely as he could; while she continued a persistent grind into his nether regions.

Sighing ever so slightly as she continued the actions, getting her labored for responses from him; ranging from gasps to shudders running through his body. She loved that response from him, it was something that she enjoyed hearing quite a lot she found.

Her being impressed didn't last long as her panting turned ragged, there was no need for her to hold off on she decided. It was something that had to be pressed further, this achieved by taking a hold of his rather firm member between her fingers and holding it up. Wasting no time she moved her panties to the side and pushed the length of him into her core's lips, with a soft grunt coming from her lips as she pressed him into her slowly.

Though the action of slow entry surprised Kou, there was no chance for him to do anything shy of clutch her with his hands. Taking holding her hips and squeezing them, and noting that this action drew a soft grin from her. Just taking in what small sights he could actually note, as always these actions required very little from him; as always the arrancar women he'd been intimate were always in control.

"Mmm..." the small sound that came from Mila was a mark of her enjoyment, it felt oddly better than the previous times. She was holding him down half as hard, he was squirming in pleasure beneath her; it was just the way she wanted it. In the following moment she was in action, her hips raising slowly and then descending upon his.

It took only moments of some soft thrusting before Mila Rose found her rhythm, a nice slow rise and an almost torturous lowering onto his boyhood; enjoying the feeling of him spreading her walls as she once again met his hips and held him buried within her completely. For the arrancar woman there was nothing quite as close as the way she felt now, another defining moment between them that seemed to be changing her slowly. Perhaps males were all but useless, but this one made her feel wonderful inside and for whatever desire brought her back; she couldn't get enough of him this way.

Her sounds could be heard throughout the room as she made soft noises, these sounds were almost unlike her in general; surprisingly feminine in their nature. Moans and gentle cries as she began to up the ante of their pace, grounding his member and squeezing him tightly with her walls. Clenching around him and making sure that his cries continued, there as her top was let down and her supple breasts free to press against his bare chest as she laid out against him.

Taking the new position to grind at his base harder, how he drove her mad...it was almost something she wanted to scream to the world! But there was surprise to be held as she felt her hips clutched, but not just that it was more of a desperate grab of some kind. A strength that she hadn't felt from Kousou before, looking down she saw his darkened irises and grinned at him. So this was that power she fought against? She could tell by the strong scent of a bird rising; whenever she fought with his masked form, he always smelled more like that bird, his hollow. Though it wasn't quite him, she could see his darkened irises and pressed herself harder against him.

This she kind of liked, while it was still something of a passionate moment for her, he was reacting in a way suitable for her pleasure. In that instant she took to an increased rhythm, pushing her hips down harder and with more speed. Hearing her gasp again and feeling his touch on her skin, she knew it was a success. As his hips moved with an uncontrolled response, something of an off rhythm thrust that met her halfway; she grunted in pleasure from the impact. That did feel better than his weak and feeble attempts to hold her alone, she found herself undecided as she continued the pace for a moment; before slamming down onto his shaft's base with a pleasured sigh.

Her lust won out and she mentally focused on getting more of his hollow's reaction to her strength out of him. The result of which was like nothing she'd ever seen, pushing herself through the fiercest moment she was having at the moment, biting into his neck and trailing her licking tongue against his throat, how her instincts told her to rip his throat out by nature of it; as a human soul it made her want to do so, it was something simple that she restrained from that want. He looked at her through half closed eyes, strained with pleasure and the feeling of her clenching around him.

She had become so tight for his body that it was almost unbearable, he had no means of telling just how he would respond to it. Though he found the results of his reiatsu being placed around him to be somewhat successfully, it had been condensed more than usual, more than some passive coat of armor. His body was conforming the reiatsu into a finely pressed suit of armor, something like a second skin; using his quincy skills it was possible to craft it far finer than a mere shinigami. It was one advantage that Kou seemed to have, focus and skill at manipulation of not just reiryoku, but his reiatsu as well. This was paying off for him right now, he was fortunate.

"Nnuuyhh..." he groaned softly, feeling her heat squeeze him again as she rose and then bucked down on top of him once more, while he grabbed at her waist, talons had begun forming at the ends of his nails.

This little more than a manipulation of his hollow reiatsu, it was forming something similar to a physical, it became more visible to her as his hollow surfaced; if but for a moment.

**"Damn...you are one wild kitty...nnggh...so tight.." **the words had been hushed by Kou's focusing efforts, he blushed deeply at the effects of his words; they were him and yet not his words. They were a distortion of his current thoughts, she was incredibly strong and he was feeling that in more than one way.

She smirked at his words, she knew that wasn't him with the look in his eyes; those dark navy and golden hue dancing around the black backing of his irises. The words made her feel a little sassier...something she didn't feel, the truth was it made her feel like giving more effort. She pumped her hips down his length, forcing him to hilt inside of her while she gyrated deeply on his groin; purring softly at the feeling of him within her. It was wonderful, to feel his pulsing member within her walls. She gripped tightly and dragged up against his slick shaft and savored the sounds that their flesh made together.

Like delicate music to her ears, she panted and gave off a soft huff as she rocked along his heat once more. Nibbling on the end of his flesh as she traced her fingers through his hair, the skin that she bruised with her teeth. His nearly blemish free skin now had its first mark; her mark that made him known as hers.

Sure she did share him, but when it was her time with him...that was out the window and all that mattered was that she had her quality time with him. As she felt her climax coming on hard, she chanced a moment to speak through all of her huffing and panting. She had been working him out hard, making him last by clenching around him; she didn't want him to give in early as he did when she had first started taking him.

"Nnhmm...you are something special Kousou...you are mine, I share you but...you're mine. I will hear no different from anyone else..." she hissed as her climax struck her.

In the next few moments, her walls vibrantly pulsed to life, beyond her control now; they flat out convulsed and expanded around him for a single instant, before bearing down on his length one final time.

"Nnggahhh!" throwing her head back, she let off a low cry, biting her lip to stifle the rest. For just the moment she was blushing and found herself a little embarrassed, had she had such a good time with him? It really seemed so, she felt different right now, but it felt good to release. To feel the warmth within her body, it was not just his being used here...he was having her feel amazing, if not a little winded right now.

(-End Mature Scene-)

Settling down against his chest, Mila Rose purred and kissed the side of his head, she noticed that he was unconscious; probably as a result of her release and actions; he was so precious.

She felt a bit more protective of his sweet demeanor, he was so gentle and yet he could fight with the ferocity of a hollow. A surprisingly cold mind that sets forth leagues of plans to destroy his foe; whoever opposes the opposite of his wishes. He protected Harribel-sama with a similar will that rivaled either herself, Apache, or Sun-Sun. It truly stunned her to see a shincy defending his supposed enemy with the dedication that a fraccion was bound to develop from serving their Espada.

"You are a wonderful boy Kousou, you complete our fraccion circle." she said this truly meaning it so, well perhaps it was that silly thing called fate that brought him before them.

The thought of him leaving actually did come to mind, she knew that if and when this war happened; he'd think about the shinigami and their plight. Even though as far as told to her, he was an outsider who was friends with Kurosaki Ichigo somewhat, and the stake he had in the war was his family. She brushed the thought away, she must have been getting soft.

"Hmm, you really are having some effect on me boy...let me tell you." she said before stroking his cheek over softly, this was nothing that was befitting of her thought process right now.

She snuggled into his body and covered them both in the blanket at the base of the bed, she liked that about him, he was soft in this way. He was always doing things like 'knitting' as he called it, it was so unmanly in her view. He shouldn't be doing such things, yet he did because he was rather adept at doing such.

With no other thoughts in her mind, she stopped thinking and let her tired body drift off to sleep. There was no reason to consider anymore thoughts this night. The new day would herald some difficult tidings with news reaching Urahara that his parents were both battle ready and on their way to discuss safe passage to Hueco Mundo; things would soon be thrown into a different loop all together.

(-Back in Karakura Town-)

As two shadows moved with great haste towards the small candy shop, the figure leading the two, was none other than Kou's concerned mother with his father bringing up the rear. While normally a sensible mother who kept her cool, Niyna Yuushin wasn't very easy to stir into worry; but like any parent concerned for their child she reacted with the expected result. At first very hasty, she wanted to rush to Hueco Mundo and get Kou back as soon as possible; however fortunate it seemed that her husband was able to rationally tell her they had to wait.

With no means of going to Hueco Mundo normally, both parents went to Tou Yuushin's old acquaintance, Urahara Kisuke with their plight. Having more on his hands to do than keeping Niyna calm, once Urahara had given them the word that they were not the only ones who were out to save someone from Hueco Mundo; both calmly waited out the couple of months necessary by training. The intense training to bring them up to fighting speed, as outside of training their child neither Tou or his wife were really up to date with their skills.

It was like awakening a sleeping dragon, since with the new determination Niyna trained fiercely until she was near her peak skill once more, even taking days off of work to do so; she pushed her husband to some limits. Her quincy powers were heightened, her bow able, and with one focus in her mind she would not fail. Saving their son was top priority, she could have cared less who their enemy was.

While Tou made sure that he took all of the intel that Urahara had and studied it well, he had learned of the 10 Espada, the rankings and how each grew stronger with the higher number. Even with the months of training, he had not warn away all of the rust on his skills. He was in constant contact with Getsushiryuu(Moon Dragon), he would have all of his powers about him for this. He spoke even of the possible use of Bankai, should he be pushed that far. Since these arrancar had dual reiatsu just might be a problem. Even if he was their slated antithesis by chance.

"Remember Niyna, we have to stay with this group heading to Hueco Mundo. We don't want to charge in their blindly, even if you consider our strengths and what we are after; it is a similar goal to young Kurosaki." Tou tried to remind his wife not to just rush off; given her speed it would be a problem all in all.

"Our son is top priority Tou, don't forget that this was _your_ doing that brought him to the attentions of Aizen Sosuke. From what Urahara explains to me, it was the fact that he is a rare breed and a Vaizard, that...is why he was chosen." she sounded bitter at the thought that she'd since forgiven him on.

Tou was visibly responsive to that remark and made a small face at her.

"Not to sound childish dear, but is that going to help our son? We must focus, I understand what my doing was...but do not forget, he is simply rare as far as a breed. There are no Shinigami/Quincy children walking around. I would say it wa inevitable, you should not be so quick to blame. We simply have to solve this problem: we will save our child, have faith." he said softly to her, as they headed for Urahara's.

This seemed to be the beginning nocturne to the unfolding chapter, whether or not they would save their son and he would be in one piece. That was what they feared, that he was damaged in some way. How sad to say that their intuition was not far from the truth. Young Kousou was tainted and now, there would be conflict from both ends: Kou was forever changed by his experiences.

Now the final meeting between Kou and his parents would show the inevitable result.

(End Chapter)

I hope you liked this one, woo sorry took me a while to get it out. I have been slowing down a fair bit, wanting to pick up more. Just lost track of my path through this chapter. But here you are, in its complete form. I hope you enjoy it...and wait till the next one heh.

Till then adieu

-Quentix


	12. Chapter: Commanded by a Shark Empress

A/N: While it was a bit of a wait, I assure you that this chapter will more than speak for itself in depth and character. As here we have something of a powerful piece within the next chapter of this epic. As Kousou's parents have patiently waited for their chance to follow Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends into the depths of the desert world of Hueco Mundo, the first signs of these threats reach Kou's notice, will he act upon his fraccion duties should they conflict with the path of his human friends? Where do the loyalties lie within the youth who has been tainted by his time amongst the Espada's fraccion? Wait and see in this upcoming chapter. Without further adieu, here we go!

(End A/N)

Chapter XI: Commanded by a Shark Empress

As Kousou awakened to another morning, the first thing that fell across the shincy's lap were words of an intruder that had been engaged by the Numeros and Privaron Espada, even though he had not seen these intruders at first hand, he was no fool. _'Kurosaki-san…you came for Inoue-san as I knew you would…' _the thought had not been upon him, he knew that he and Ichigo had been friends; even if not very close ones. He knew that this would be reason enough for the brave youth to come and fight for his sake.

The thoughts caused him much of an issue…as for months he had altered his state of mind, his focus, and everything that was given to him…he had come to accept as his reality. He was the fraccion of the Tres Espada, Tia Harribel and that his world ended with her shadow. Her order was sovereign and the guidelines that he needed to understand. The one thing he hoped that he could prevent from piercing his psyche had done just that, it had become one of the things he prided himself on following to the letter.

'_I have ruined my own mind…what am I to do now?'_

'**You ignorant moron! Get your wits back in order, you know as well as I do just how right this feels. So why not just accept it?'**

'_Because you know as well as I, Yami-Kou, that our parents would not appreciate it…not my father, my mother, or the one who has claimed you as a son.' _Kou knew full well that Yami-Kou despised his father's hollow. After all who wanted a father when they were spawned essentially on purpose?

'**That bastard has nothing to do with me! I told you to stop bringing that up, though I hate you for being right. Your parents suck, kid, big time. Coming here to ruin our fun, what a buzz kill.' **

Kousou winced at the thought, was this honestly what he thought? He didn't need to ask that…he knew it was a fact. But he could not afford to break the union that they'd come to have, not the harmony that he'd found by extending his hand out, allowing a taint to spread through his reiatsu. By this point he felt just like them, he felt as an arrancar with the reiatsu of both a Shinigami and a Hollow running through his body; empowering his every activity and surely nothing could change that.

'_I will figure something out, until I absolutely see my parents…I will not betray Harribel-sama.'_he spoke the words with a resolve that seemed sure enough. But Yami-Kou mentally scoffed at him.

'**Sure kid, if she tells you to destroy the intruders, you won't manage.'**

'…_We will see.' _The coldness in the tone was certainly not what he expected, even from himself.

With the youth entrenched in his mental turmoil, he headed out to the main area of the fraccion rooms within Harribel's palace. Wondering what today's mission was, he expected to be met by either Mila-Rose or Apache, but to his surprise neither of them were present.

At first it seemed that the quarters had been completely abandoned, but a soft spoken voice alerted him to the fact that they were not.

"Today, Kousou, you and I will be partnered up. We are to crush an uprising that is south of Hueco Mundo. We will head out at once, Harribel-sama hopes that we can quell this with as little causality as possible." The elegant Sun-Sun had spoken before disappearing in a flash of Sonido.

Following her without a moment to lose, Kou looked after her and wondered what the rush was? Perhaps it was to see that he was no where near any of the areas involving intruders? His mind wandered and Sun-Sun called him on it.

"Your mind is going astray, focus Kousou…our opponents will not be kind."

Kou nodded gently and looked ahead, he said nothing as this would not serve him, she was right.

By the time the two of them had reached the archaic looking village of cave dwellings, there had been little chance to react to the emergence of the red eyes upon the group; ultimately the odds were against the two managing to talk with any leaders. The hollows were lead by three tall standing members; one arrancar and two pseudo arrancar flanking him.

"It seems we're slaughtering them, watch yourself Kousou." Sun-Sun's words held great meaning, as she stepped backwards gracefully and evaded the full frontal claw of the pseudo arrancar who attacked her.

Within an instant of the hollow's approach on him, Kou wasted no time in bringing his zanpakuto to rise; catching the powerful slash of the pseudo arrancar's blade arm against Kazashiryuu.

While the shincy grunted under the effort of keeping the blade arm of the hollow from reaching his shoulder, gradually his reiatsu rose and shook the immediate surroundings as he unleashed a fair amount of its bulk.

"Just who…do you think…I am!" Kou's roar came as he threw the blade arm of the arrancar back into the air, sweeping past the beast's side in a flash of shunpo; only the monster's cry of agony and a spray of its blood.

It had taken only a minute before the beast fell over, body distorting as it faded from Hueco Mundo's area, completely crushed by Kou's use of his hollowfication. While Kou had finished the first of the pseudo arrancar, the ball fell to Sun-Sun who was gauging her opponent.

As the snake princess nimbly avoided the clumsy swings of the second pseudo arrancar, her free hand kept before her face, the long sleeves hiding any signs of actions being taken. She made no effort to show the beast what her effort was. The only thing that she offered was her words towards this creature, as she appeared beyond its reach.

"Pathetic." No extra words, just a second blur of Sonido leaving the creature standing in her wake, frozen in place as if it never stood a chance.

Within moments, countless slashes formed along the beast's form, all a result of the fraccion's sai-like Zanpakuto finding its mark. The near effortless defeat of both of his lieutenants taught the leader of this colony that he would have to release.

As Kou observed their next opponent, he removed his hollowfication. Not taking chances with his limit, he pointed Kazashiryuu at the arrancar and took an offensive stance, with his right foot forward and zanpakuto placed off to his side; prepared to meet him.

"Impressive…the two of you are powerful but I fear it will not be enough. I am the leader of this village for a reason. I, Guiterrin Landalos, will crush the both of you without fail." The words had no sooner left his lips before he had been upon Kousou.

With his Rapier-styled zanpakuto in hand, Guiterrin had thrust his blade towards the shincy's right side, grazing the youth with the sharp edge. The force of his thrust had thrown the fraccion off to the right of the missed strike.

Whereas Kousou had managed to recover from it after tumbling backwards twice, he could see that this leader had been in his position for sometime. His reiatsu was incredible, with a single thrust had blown him back with such ease? He couldn't afford to hold back.

"Slash with the four winds, Kazashiryuu!" upon the release's incantation, Kou unleashed the stylized chokuto and holding it firmly as he prepared one of his techniques.

While Guiterrin met Sun-Sun in for a display of passing clutches, with her sai meeting his rapier midway across the desert sands; while she showed no signs of letting up, it soon became clear who was the stronger of the two of them. The village leader had been incredibly powerful and showed little mercy to her. And with a simple violent _clang_ from the meeting of Sun-Sun and Guiterrin's weapons, she now lay in a small spread of sand; rising up with some effort and beyond a grunt showing no response to the blow.

Kou was angered by the sight of it, his comrade had just been defeated as easily as he had…they needed to do something or possibly face oblivion.

"You have fought valiantly, but it ends here…it is a shame that I must kill you both. But any traitors to our kind must be killed. You work for Aizen, prepare yourselves for the great beyond." His voice spoke with a finality that backed the dropping speed of his sword.

It was met by Kousou's shikai; sure enough he stood in front of Sun-Sun, more out of his sense of duty than anything else. His pressure had been building since Guiterrin's assault on his partner, now he was going to unleash it…point blank.

"Kadou…Kyuutai(Vortex Orb)!" the attack name being shouted had released an even greater force than he'd been showing prior to that point, revealing the sphere of tornado pressure at this range was madness; but to his hope he forced the village elder back in his tracks.

Guiterrin met the wicked orb of energy and attempted to cleave into the orb, despite being throttled backwards by the sheer wind-pressure. He had almost no means of reacting to it shy of growling and digging into the sand as he was staggered by the orb. So many different angles of the wind had been driving him back, attempting to find a weak point in it; he was summarily beaten by the force. The Orb slammed into his body and ripped across his hierro by the powerful crosswinds, as the sphere of crushing winds slammed him into the far off wall of the hollow encampment, it exploded into a wide blast range of vortices; made of both various tornadic pressures and reiatsu swirling from the wind itself.

As Kou panted softly from his efforts, he immediately began to build pressure once more, unwilling to chance waiting, he knew that Guiterrin's power was back building, Kou would need his Bankai…he had no doubt of this. With a voice snapped him from his train of thought.

"Kousou, it is time we ended this game; I am going to release my zanpakuto…you will use your Bankai or Hollowfication respectively, this leader shall not be spared. That time has passed." It sounded most cold, but it had been a fact now as the law of Hueco Mundo took over: kill or be killed.

As Sun-Sun's pressure rose her eyes focused upon their target with defiance in mind, would it be enough? It was almost doubtful at best, but she had her pride and her no intentions of standing down to death without fighting back. She expected just the same from Kousou, the snake princess spoke her words with dignity. "Strange them, Anaconda", the splash of flaring pink reiatsu seemed to entwine finely with the navy and dark gold aura burning around her counterpart.

The shincy was releasing all he had been holding back, this person, this enemy, this foe would not allow anything less. "Bankai!" the words were shouted with distinction, as the energy soared around him and the source was put off to another location. It was nothing but a difficult path to see, but he would no less justice to those present: he looked forward.

As the display was quite unexpected, Guiterrin was frankly impressed…this amount of reiatsu from them both? The pressure that was given in the place here, it made his skin crawl as if he felt something gnashing at him. He would not be intimidated by this display; not from mere lackeys.

"Impressive but pointless." He said as he gathered up a swirling mass of gray cero within his hand, he would eliminate them both with one powerful blast.

As Guiterrin forced the cero into a condensed ball within his palm, forcing it into a stable form for release; the little window he'd had for attack had ended. As two blasts of reiatsu struck the arrancar village leader's center, his own cero was released and exploded into the air as he was sent to the floor.

While the smoke cleared, Sun-Sun's matter-of-fact tone emerged. "You know…you should never let your foes have the chance to fight back, it fails miserably when you attempt to kill them without mercy."

"Bankai: Daibaishin no Sansai Kazashiryuu," Kou's words were standard shinigami standing, announcing the new phase of his final release.

His reiatsu was impressive, as a realm fed by scarcely the amount of pressure that Soul Society was, he had trained to withstand it better and to hold his powers for a decent amount of time despite what he felt. The presence of the excessively sized red Fu Dragon above the fraccion pair had invited clouds and a soft drizzle to begin to fall from those clouds of the thunderhead that Kazashiryuu was resting upon.

After a roar Kousou moved forward, while the Fu Dragon's left claw swept down towards Guiterrin's fallen body; for a moment it almost seemed as if it would hit.

But a heavy crash of reiatsu from Guiterrin meeting the shincy halfway in his movement proved that he had no intention of being hit.

"Impressive boy, you a traitor to your kind do wield a Bankai, remarkable for your age…but pointless; without practice you shall fall easily!" his words had made the intent clear.

While he avoided another slash of the large dragon's right claw, he was met by Kou's Yari hand-spears, in direct opposition to his plan.

A set of clashes along the desert sand spoke of the intensity of combat, as the spreading sand revealed the speed of the battle raging on; a powerful slash sent Kousou to the ground once more. While Guiterrin stood with a small smirk on his face, the impressive show of his skill at wielding his spears showed him the spirit of this lackey.

It was a shame that he was not a hollow; he had to die for being a shinigami and a lackey of Aizen. Guiterrin had been too preoccupied with the rising Kousou and he paid for his negligence.

"Aaghh!" a shredding set of bites from several white snake heads ripped away Guiterrin's flesh as Sun-Sun struck the elder from behind and gracefully landed, with the use of her now serpent lower-torso she had been virtually soundless.

Offering the leader no quarter, a previously charged cero was released across the path where he fell; as the wide pink cero enveloped his body and pierced a wide half-pipe formation out of the sand as it engulfed him.

Turning briefly to Kousou, she raised the hand that had the several snake heads revealed from it and brought it before her face before speaking. "Do not act so recklessly Kousou, I may not be there to rescue you, should such an event be repeated."

Kou just nodded to her, since he knew that with her help he had been able to survive that encounter without much trouble if at all; his body was aching from the few slashes he'd taken from the Elder.

While the shincy got to his feet and moved back towards his partner, he'd had only a few moments to dread the words he had hoped never to hear.

"Sing their death knell, Nocturne Sickle." the words of release had frightened both fraccion, as the heavy trembling of his pressure could be felt.

As it seemed despite Sun-Sun's mortal wound to the elder and the charged cero aimed to kill him; had failed to complete the job. "You've caused me quite…the trouble little ones,"

This was the last word that either of the two heard, before Sun-Sun and Kousou suddenly erupted into a spray of blood. It seemed unreal…as the snake princess fell to the ground she spied the shincy who had once again moved into the path of the attack; had he seen it?

'_Harribel-sama…' _were the final thoughts that passed her mind as her eyes shut slowly.

Even with Kousou's selfless guarding attempt, both he and his Bankai were crushed evenly and the attack had found its mark on them both.

'_Y-Yami…we're finished…eh?'_

_**'The hell is wrong with you Kousou? Don my power you idiot! Get up and fight, stop fading, I can't have us die like this!'**_

'_I-I'm sorry...__**Not as much as I am kid…**__' _

While the two of them rested in the sand and Guiterrin headed over to finish the job, his smug attitude after having defeated them in a single slash had his guard down. To this disregard for his on safety, he would know only the regret of that action.

"_Ola Azul!" _as if spoken in a whisper, the refined blast of the Tres Espada soared through the air with amazing accuracy and from above, striking the released arrancar elder.

As the blast took him completely by surprise he would only have moments to feel the violent bite of the Espada's zanpakuto as it tore across his back, violently raking the hierro of the released arrancar and spilling his blood across the sand.

Unwilling to give him any quarter Harribel's heel spun into the side of his waist and sent him barreling through the desert sand face first. As her right heel touched the sand, she wordlessly looked to both of her fallen fraccion and turned back to him. They had sacrificed themselves to this mission and tried to complete it. The elder was far stronger than anticipated and had she arrived a minute later, she'd have lost two loyal fraccion.

"I must say…you are as strong as they say but why do you serve Aizen? Kneeling before a shinigami is shameful! I will make you see the light if I must."

His words fell upon deaf ears as she kept her eyes on those that fell for her orders, she would erase this cretin, and she would avenge the honor of her fraccion.

"Sun-Sun…Kousou…you fought well." With her decision made, her icy demeanor met the confident gaze of the fool who would soon be dead. "Your life has already ended…Destroy, Tiburon!"

While the elder watched the dancing spiral of water swirl around her graceful body as she activated her resurreccion. The battle had ended in a single slash of her zanpakuto following her change, as Tia Harribel had not offered so much as a word to pass from her lips. Sun-Sun and Kousou would never know what happened to that elder, for Harribel was far more concerned with returning them to Hueco Mundo.

-Two hours later-

Sun-Sun and Kousou had been returned to their prospective rooms since the conflict, with their wounds healed; Harribel simply awaited the slightest shift in either of their reiatsu patterns. The desire to understand what happened within the battle, where the information might have proven false; as she had been told the task would be enough for her fraccion to take care of. The fact remained simple: that it was not the case.

Using her pesquisa to monitor them both as she sat within her chambers, awaiting the first of them to awaken, either would do to answer her questions. After some patient sitting her thoughts would ease slightly as Sun-Sun came to wake, the elevation in her reiatsu served as the acknowledgment of it.

Wasting no later moments, the Espada made her way into the snake princess's room and stepped to the side of her bed; eyes mildly concerned despite her having already seen the healer. It was the sacrifices that Sun-Sun had made for her sake, this strengthened her resolve to end the struggle with the Shinigami. Aizen-sama had to be right, she had to believe in that some sacrifices were _absolutely _necessary.

"Harribel...sama...I apologize for...the failure." her words were weak, full of the shame that she bore from the miserable end of the mission.

A single look spoke the volumes of the Espada's respect for her fraccion and their dedication to their duties.

"You fought well Sun-Sun, that was all that I could ask of you." her voice was soft, but acknowledged the concerns of her fraccion quietly; they need not speak on the incident further.

Bowing her head respectfully, the snake princess awaited her commander's next word: be it an order or question. The silence was simply Sun-Sun's way of showing her will to continue her duties.

Harribel gave her a simple nod in response to the bow while placing her gloved hand on the side of the bedside, before she spoke again. "I want to ask you what is the last thing that you remember? What did that arrancar say to you before fighting? Any reasons for his actions?"

It took the snake princess a moment to gather her thoughts, as several things crossed her mind first. However, she cut to the chase without wait, "His actions were without remorse, he held both myself and Kousou in contempt for working for Aizen-sama. Stating so smugly that we are lackeys and Kousou himself a traitor to his kind."

Harribel listened to her words and shook her head, as it was another hollow who believed things were that simple. It seemed so few could truly understand Aizen-sama's plan. "Thank you, Sun-Sun, get some rest now."

With what she needed from her fraccion there was no need to stay, she left the room and decided to wait for Kousou's awakening.

-Within Kousou's chambers-

Slowly as his eyes opened up, Kou felt the aches all across his midsection, the dull pains radiating through his body was proof enough that he was alive. There was no doubt in his mind that he was unable to do anything shy of sitting up partway.

_'I'm alive...thank goodness...'_

**'You're still a moron.'**

_'It's great to hear from you too Yami-san.'_

**'I told you to use my power, didn't I? Thinking that stupid Bankai was gonna stop him?'**

_'Y-you know that I haven't the reserves of greater combatants, I had to conserve.'_

**'Yeah and look what it got you.'**

_'Heh...nice to know you care'_

**'...'**

Saying nothing more, both inner-hollow and shincy alike were exhausted. Kousou's mind had simply let him catch up to the pain that had run through his body. Though at the sound of a voice, one he recognized well; he was sure that before he went to rest he had some explaining to do.

His leader was present, he would show her the proper respect.

"Kousou, how do you feel?"

"I am achy, but physically healed from the damage. I must apologize, for the shabby performance Harribel-sama. With Sun-Sun's leadership, there should not have been any failure...," his fingers curled into weak fists and clenched while he shook his head in frustration.

But the Espada's words spoke again, not wishing to hear him speak negatively of both his and Sun-Sun's efforts.

"You fought well Kousou, standing with Sun-Sun before an opponent of a superior strength and caliber, do not speak ill of the sacrifice that you made. Moving to protect your partner on mission is a selfless act, even if it was to no avail. Your actions are worthy of praise."

To his credit, the youth held his composure in battle, even in defeat. He was becoming an asset to her fraccion, surely he was no leader; but two of her fraccion had been involved with him and very protective of his safety. With one who seemed to keep her distance, on occasion even she took comfort in his company.

Her analysis of the shincy's presence was reflecting mostly positive: Kousou had gained a great deal of improvement [in techniques, control, and power] from training with the fraccion, he established bonds with each of them, and her ladies had gained some improved strength and ability from time with him.

There was nothing on her mind except curiosity about the shincy, though she was unsure of how to proceed with it. It wasn't as if she held plans of any kind beyond her questioning, with that information satisfied, what more was there to do?

"Would you like some tea, Harribel-sama?" the shincy broke the silence with his question, as he reached to the nearby side of his bed-like couch and adjusted the kettle in its position on the edge of his makeshift hotplate (heated by reiatsu).

She gave him a soft nod and sat herself at the end of his bed, tea would be nice while she made her judgments mentally.

As Kousou waited for the tea to finish heating up on the small hotplate he'd been given, his mind wandered slightly how far had he fallen? He had changed and knew it deep down, there was nothing that was hiding that fact from him; his attempt to feign loyalty had resulted in his bonds, now what would he do with himself?

The kettle's whistle broke his train of thought as he just sat back, there was no need for him to try and question such things now. As he poured his Espada her cup of tea, he set the kettle down and held up her cup to be taken. "Here you are, Harribel-sama," the polite offer was accepted as she took the cup from him and nodded in quiet thanks to him.

The two silently shared their respective cups of tea, though there were no words, it was clear that Harribel was coming to some sort of decision. What was this boy fighting with? The power of his sacrifice had not only changed but had grown. He fought with reasoning that seemed to defy logic as it was, she could see that he fought for her will with a conviction rivaling her original fraccion; but a bond he'd forged with the women had changed him.

It was something that she had not known personally, amongst her subordinates rested a bond, and they all owed thanks in some way. They served her out of duty, so why were things odd between her and her last fraccion? The tension could be attributed to the facts she knew: He was male, he respected and admired her greatly, he had a strong attraction to her. Nothing that she didn't understand logically.

But something gnawed at the back of her mind, why not just enjoy his company? It was not proper to fornicate with one's subordinate was that not the rule? Though it was something about the young man that changed her mind, bonds were forged...if lost the sacrifice was greater. Her attribute, the aspect of death that she represented. Her conscious present...what she fought for was the dream of a world where none had to fight...where sacrifice was not necessary.

Harribel's thoughts were to herself, while Kousou himself was not certain of what to feel, he felt that his leader had been staying longer than she had in the past. Something was on her mind, was it better to talk about it? He dared not to pry, he knew that she would mention it if it were to be talked about. There the thoughts of a proper fraccion echoed in his mind.

As she set her empty teacup to the side on its small tea dish, her eyes passed back to her kind host and nodded to him in thanks for it. He smiled in turn and had taken the dishes to the side, he would wash them at the sink in his bathroom later.

"Kousou."

His name being spoken had stopped him from heading into the bathroom, instead his eyes returned to his Espada; showing the proper respect with a partially lowered gaze.

"Harribel-sama?"

"This evening, we shall spend the evening together." her words were not of a command, just letting him know her intentions.

Her fraccion's face lit up with nervousness, she noticed he didn't speak a moment and his cheeks were red. The reactions were what she thought they might be, she knew that his feelings towards her clearly defined his devotion towards his service to her.

"Do you require my bed? I can rest on the floor, as I do not wish to crowd you."

"That will not be necessary Kousou, your bed is large enough."

She walked just past his side and sat on the edge of the bed-couch cushion.

"Act as if you were normally retiring to sleep."

Kou stopped and took a deep breath, heading into the bathroom to wash his dishes and freshen up for the evening. His mind forced to relax by his conscious thought, he had no reason to be on edge; he was probably thinking on that too hard he thought.

Meanwhile, Harribel settled onto his bed, laying back and looking out the window off to the right, he had a nice room view. She felt that resting with him tonight might give her some insight on what made him so different. Perhaps she could observe him and witness more of his activities as he slept. She often stayed up in thought, this night was likely to be no different.

Kousou soon emerged, dressed in his night clothing, he bowed to the moon and then spoke a few words of some kind. After a few small necklaces being removed from his neck, he moved to the empty side of the bed and laid himself out straight on his back; it would be good to grow used to this he thought. The ability to fall asleep was uncanny in one like him, he could truly test it while in the presence of someone who made him feel off balance. His Leader, Tia Harribel.

As he fell into what was a pristine sleep, the Tres Espada rolled over and watched the youth at rest. Spying the placid look on his face and just sampling the purity he gave off. Something about him drew her fraccion to him like a candle, she knew very well they fed off of this innocence, as no matter the feelings felt between them with him; he was very well what their kind devoured.

Even if he walked amongst them and had carried himself like an arrancar, they were separated in a way that was but a thin barrier of kinds. His mind exuded nothing, seeming not to betray the gentle appearance; she knew that he had a sight gift. Picking up on his powers and exploring useful avenues of advancement, sure he lacked the power that they had, but his ingenuity and talent for control...that was where his power lay.

"Kousou...sleep well, for tomorrow I will break your barrier...you will become like us." her decision was probably one of the most severe in nature, whatever it was about this child, she felt it necessary to force his survival; someone who knew the avenues of his powers could learn to wield his hollow powers diversely.

With the factor decided, the Espada allowed herself to lay down to sleep, letting the eternal darkness take her; much like it held all of its children. Tomorrow Kousou would start to walk as an arrancar.

-The Next Day-

The day was a little stranger than usual, as Kou awakened to find his Espada still very present, what was he to do with it? He proceeded as if she wasn't there and slipped out of bed, bowing towards the moon again, he stretched his body out and began to do various stretches, all the ones he could think of during the morning, after all he always proceeded to train if having a free morning. He had a feeling today was not one of these similar cases.

As Harribel watched her fraccion do his morning stretches and then heading into the restroom to get ready, she on the otherhand rose and headed into the hall, leaving Kousou with some words through the bathroom area.

"Kousou, take what you can of 20 minutes and meet me in the center desert region of Los Noches, we are going to train your powers today." Harribel had been very vague with purpose, since she knew his sharp mind would try to determine what _kind _of training it might be ahead, but she would expect nothing less than his acceptance of it.

While she left Kou to his devices, she could not help but wonder how he would prepare himself if at all for it.

Although once Harribel had left the room, Apache snuck herway inside and waited at the door, as she'd watched the shincy's habits long enough from his bed. She knew that he was about ready to emerge and once he had stepped out, she grabbed him by his collar and drew him into her arms.

"Damn it Kousou, what the hell was all that? Harribel-sama was in your room! Did you sleep with her?" what was she feeling now? Welling up inside of her was immense irritation towards him and jealousy was eating at her by this point.

She pinned him to the wall and looked him in the eyes, fury burning inside of her, she wanted to slug him! But she dared not to, she knew he was needed by Harribel-sama and so she waited for him to explain himself.

"No, we did not couple...she rested in my bed, for whatever the odd reason itself was; it was unusual but nothing happened." his face not once losing the innocence presence.

It took only a few moments before Apache's grip on him loosened, she knew he wouldn't lie to her face. This sweet youth didn't have it in him to speak one false word back to her. She squeezed his waist and kissed him somewhat roughly, it was not something that she had done usually.

The rather awkward form of aggressive affection from Apache was unexpected, but nothing that Kou was not prepared to return, in that fact he kissed her softly in return while feeling lips pressing hard; likely in effect bruising them. Well it wasn't bad if this was truly an attempt at what he assumed it was.

She pressed him to the wall and slowly drew back, her hands at either side of his face while she just remained there, staring at the strange boy that had done something, why had she changed...when did she become so weak? She wanted to try and hurt him somewhere inside, just to blame him and make this feel easier...would it? She didn't know.

Given that he had a small window to move off, he leaned forward and stroked Apache's cheek and spoke gently to her.

"I have a duty to attend to, Apache-san...Harribel-sama is waiting to train me." his words direct, knowing he needed to make the point.

She stepped off to the side and grumbled lightly.

"Don't be gone all day." her words seemed to reflect how she currently felt, since this and tomorrow were the only days off this time...she did not want to have felt it lost; even if she couldn't stop say something to him, she wanted all that she could take and that was really it for her.

Though her words would have little impact on how Harribel-sama would use her time, this would be a matter of what her plans were and what the aim of this was. She honestly wondered what their Espada planned to do with Kousou?

While her thoughts ended there, Kou proceeded to gather a quick snack and gather his zanpakuto; he was as ready as he would be. The shincy was on guard about something since he knew whatever it was, this would be tied to his hollow powers. Harribel-sama had been directly responsible for the initial exercises with his hollow powers and his coming to use it more directly without the need of his zanpakuto in hand.

-Out the Center Dome Desert-

Harribel stood quietly with her arms folded under her chest, her eyes shut as she listened to the soft breeze blowing across the dunes. This was home, this was _their _home, and now she had to bring this feeling to Kousou. Her astute estimates of his range of gains in skill had been fairly accurate. But she imagined the reason why he hadn't felt as confident with his hollow powers still was because of his mindset, he was very even tempered and accepted what he was; but what he had not done was allow himself to bask in his hollow powers.

"Welcome Kousou, today we begin a new page in your growth." her words were calm but made him feel idly tense, she sensed his reiatsu's fluctuation.

She turned to face him and uncross her arms, since he believed he was ready, it was time to start.

"The rules are simple Kousou: Use onl your hollow powers when you do battle with me. I will see nothing else of your shinigami or quincy powers, you are to use all that we've taught you: cero, bala, sonido, pesquisa. I want to see what you were hiding all of this time, your hollow is strong; I have seen his reflection in your blade and I wish to see you wield that now." she made this clear, as her body relaxed and prepared for his move.

Kou moved immediately to the aggressive edge of his hollow, as he donned hollowfication and allowed Kazashiryuu to surge with the excitement of battle, the thrill of embracing his power at one point.

As there was nothing but an intense explosion of the sand around the space where Harribel met his zanpakuto, the Espada observing her opponent quietly. The second slash was swifter than Kou's normal choice of attack, as the slash lacked any actual form; it was little more than an awkward angled slash. She deflected it to her right with the flat of her blade, her eyes coolly watching the blade sweep in a horizontal arc aimed for her waist; to which was counted by her lowering the blade's hilt and catching his sword's edge.

"Is this sub-par battle skill really Kou's hollow?" her words obviously intended to insult as she hoped to find something more than the power than he was showing to her right now.

The reiatsu was impressive but it offered her nothing else, as she forced his zanpakuto away and brought her zanpakuto down on his shoulder, catching his neck partway in her slash. Spying the blood and the crazed look on his face, a small fraction of her pressure thickening the air around them. This was not what she asked him for.

"Kousou, I don't expect you to just leave me to fight your hollow, I asked for you specifically to wield it, do not disappoint me." her words following a swift kick to his ribs, while she resumed her relaxed approach to the practice match.

Leaping backwards from Harribel, while on his retreat, Kou slashed a flair of reiryoku at her direction.

_'Well that wasn't working, so its time a bit of strategy is thrown in...yami-san, your wild antics won't get anywhere with her, she's far too skilled...'_

He knew better than to try a direct attack, so he'd try some of his tactics and see how they worked out against her.

Harribel slashed right through his reiryoku and gave chase, using Sonido and appearing at Kou's back, while she brought the edge of her zanpakuto; something that Kou stopped by flaring out his reiatsu, the gold and navy aura bleeding harshly into a solidified wall in the area of her slash; slowing the blade enough for him to descend out of the reach of the sword.

Landing on the ground with Harribel's path quickly chasing him down, he turned to meet her and grunted at the impact of her blade; quickly acting to keep her from slicing him, he dropped to his knees and caught the edge of her blade with the flat of his. Using the turn of the blade in a clockwise direction while tilting his blade to the right, to help force its edge away from cutting into his shoulder.

The danger remained high, but he felt that he might be able to do something if he could keep it right in front of him. Leaping from her again, he raised his right hand and quickly solidified some of his reiatsu; forcing it into a projectile shape was something that came from his quincy nature, firing it was done with the same efficiency. While it was a weak blast in nature, his focus on the shape had made it faster than traditional bala blasts.

Harribel was still quick to deflect the blast with the tip of her blade, she looked up at him and had given him a light nod; not too bad so far. Though she had been playing at the beginning chase, did he really think this was what she was like in battle? The shark's nature would show itself in time. For the first day, she would show him that she expected nothing but more from him.

The nod had made him smile, though he had missed her use of sonido, instead finding her right in his face. Her left fist was nothing but a blur and all Kousou felt was an explosion of pain as she slugged him.

While the blow for her was next to nothing in effort, she watched Kousou roll on the ground and hold his face a moment. She expected him to draw back, though to her surprise he did not.

"Umou Kattou Kinai(Feathers Cut, In a Plane)!" much as the attack was spoken, his hollow reiryoku had swirled around her in a steady flair, forming some kind of a heavily fortified wall.

Something that Harribel herself hadn't been sure the purpose of, since as she attacked the wall in an attempt to disperse the attack, it persisted in reshaping itself and growing denser. She felt that it was absorbing energy from somewhere while it built up. Though she knew that its overall greatest strength would likely come from whatever Kou had decided to do with it.

"Umou Kattou Kinai: Keishamen (Feathers Cut, In a Plane, Inclined Plane)!" as the strange reiatsu flared around her in a giant swirling pillar-form, from above a massive feather-shaped partisan of reiatsu crashed into the pillar base nearby her and forced itself to collapse inward on itself like a balloon. The resulting shockwave that formed, had come from the reiryoku imploding on the place of entry from the feather-shaped blade and then proceeding to expand violently. The thickened waves rippled along the sand and scattered it, while shoving Kousou harshly along its own edge.

As the attack had calmed itself in that following instant, Kou found himself face first in the sand, rolling over and leaping up to his feet. He hadn't even been sure of where he was standing, the instinct yelled at him to be ready and it served him well; as his zanpakuto met his Espada's partway.

"Now _that_ is what I expect you to do, show me the true nature of your hollow powers Kousou." her words were calm, but so cut-throat as now Kou understood what she would be looking for. Something that he was now determined to show that he had access to it, even as his body grew tired; his spirit was willing to throw all he had into it.

Inside of him, seeming to be quite proud of how well Kou was doing at wielding it, all yami-kou could do now was grin and watch the show.

**'Not half-bad Kou, you seem to do almost as good a job as me there! Keep it up, we'll show her our true power!'** this was what he desired to do, for once yami-kou could taste the desire to do more than he did in his life; something that the hollow grew weary of. He held back and that restrained all of the potential, even if his other half was weak...he did have a lot of utility and that was his greatest attribute.

While the inner-hollow had no use for such ingenuity, he could not deny that the way Kou had defeated him soundly every time that he'd been challenged for control of his body; it was something that was respectable. The kid knew well about his instinct and did not deny it when it had taken root and cried out to him.

Instead it was something that he would use to further the effort to bring himself from point A to point B. It was a level of tenacity that was cold and calculative...very unusual in his line of thought, but effective to no end really.

The sand splashed wildly around the two as Kou met the great force of another of Harribel's swings, it was hard to conceive that this swing could be one of her weaker slashes. The sheer force oppressing his muscles as he held her blow back astonished him, then again he knew that it was the known gap between them. He knew that he had to think harder, this had to be rolled into a display of his skill and great control over the power that he had brushed up with every now and then.

His body flinched from her attacks, though he leaned his body back to the side as he rolled over to her side, turning and sweeping his foot down at her feet in an attempt to put her down to her back.

While Harribel easily evaded the sweep, she thrusted her sword down at Kou's face, leaving the shincy to throw his head back and evade the slash while using the momentum to try and kick her side. The Espada eased her forearm down and caught the edge of his foot, though found herself being stricken by several Bala blasts.

Brushing through the smoke, she thrust her zanpakuto straight for Kou's heart, attempting to kill her fraccion, the brutal but simple training tactic was simple but effective: Real-life combat and death situations to bring the best out in the target.

She was met by a powerful storm of hollow reiatsu, the blade mere inches from his chest and blocked only by the powerful surge of his navy blue and dark golden aura. The tactic stalled the hollow-centric zanpakuto long enough for Kou to block her with a cross slash; as the streams of his reiatsu crossing the force of his slash quickly resulted in a mighty explosion.

Kou's body sent flying across the sand violently as he rolled rapidly before managing to catch himself and rise to his knee with one foot up. He was already preparing for his next move since he had escaped the initial deathblow that she aimed for on him.

Without a word the pressure in the air picked up around him and Kou sank into his basic kenjutsu stance, he would take the initial opportunity and dashed at her; as his reiatsu covered him in a mantle-like form, the peak of the surging reiatsu taking the shape of a Raven with three high crest feathers. The shincy maintained his charge without hesitation and while in awe of the massive pillar of yellow light around his Espada leader...he met her blade as the explosion of raw reiryoku on the air surged in an awesome spectacle. Kousou would not leave this practice unscathed and he knew it was all for the best.

-Several Hours Later-

The shincy returned to his room a sheer mess, with his clothes torn in various places and wounds visible now, he knew he had faced only what was the beginning of the serious training sessions. He felt that some progress was made but couldn't place just how much had been achieved. It was enough to say that his connection with his hollow had improved somewhat and deep inside he felt satisfied by the ferocity he was able to experience.

**'That was fun you know, I hope we do more of that Kou.'**

_'I imagine you would find it fun, brutish as you are Yami-kou...honestly. But needless to say Kousou, it was interesting to witness you attempting to channel him through my blade. We are all one power to you, but...he is differently handled.'_

'As so I noticed, Kazashiryuu, it is quite a challenge to wield him through you carefully. But its one lesson I learned today, several tactics that I shall keep in mind. When wielding you again, I will use all reserves at once when necessary; as any needless engaging of excess strength is a waste of that extra power.'

As usual the shincy had already began to plan how the use of his power would play out. It wasn't until all of his concentration and thoughts were broken by the arms that wrapped tightly around him from behind, as usual he had forgotten what day it was and that Apache had been waiting diligently after finishing with her duties some time ago.

"Look at you...ruined your untouched skin...tch." her words were edgy with her lust, she bit his ear and rubbed along his stomach while holding him to her tighter than a moment ago.

Her senses roared to life the instant she sensed his reiatsu, the dark taint had done nothing to ward her and instead drew her in. He was feeling more desirable than usual and she couldn't place why.

Dragging her tongue up the side of his neck she ushered him into his room and kicked the door closed. Determined to make up for the entire day having been wasted away. The fraccion began to skillfully undress him without ruining his attire, keeping her promise the best she could to him; she didn't rip his clothing off.

A wish to have him bare and pressed to her form was something that she did not deny. She had already removed the bothersome attire he wore and rubbed his lean and muscular features over with a hiss in his ear.

"Come Kousou...we have an entire day to make up for, its time to show me your worth." her words inviting and holding the slightest hint of need before them. She held herself inward, but felt her control gradually disappearing.

It felt too good to touch another that always made the feeling different. Today was no exception, it pissed her off to no end how the youth could affect her on so many different levels. There was no way that she would allow him to be apart from her now. The deer arrancar pressed her face to his neck while she moved him back to the bed-couch that he rested on in the room. Sighing gently as Apache dragged her tongue up his smooth skin, all the while slipping from her top and removing it from her body with ease.

For reasons unknown to her, she was acting with more grace than would be believed that she had. Apache had far more sinister plans for her captive, as her body cried out with a desire to be close; to be held and filled. She would not stop until this was the result and she was certain that she'd get more than what she asked for; it was a wonder that she had not struck sooner.

Falling back upon the moonlight touched boy, soon flesh touched flesh as she moved up his body; aligning their faces and letting her lithe-warrior figure press into his with a knowing authority. Apache leaned down and bit on the side of his neck, tracing his sides with her fingertip before pursing her lips and suckling on his throat.

As he felt the attentions of his evening lover, Kou's mind drifted into a cloudy place, as the pleasure from her lips and her fingers roaming his body; he suddenly felt very vulnerable. There were no words to describe the way that he'd felt, almost that he was truly here this one night, realizing that once more Apache would have at his vulnerability. That she would drag him into the darkness of the place that he lived. A realization that he was truly present and that this foggy place was indeed his Hueco Mundo.

(-Mature scene up ahead- Skip to next set of Parenthesis to avoid-)

Tired of her own hesitation, Apache's ferocity was without warning, as she groped the youth's member and began to knead it within her fingertips. Rolling her digits up and down the tender flesh, her lips stole the freedom of his with demand behind the pressure she applied. Silencing anything else but the need to cure her of a lower ache that throbbed with a need unlike any other; she raised the half hardened flesh and promptly pushed the head into her lower lips, a gentle sigh breaking her lips as she felt a familiar warmth and hardening beginning to fill her sacred area.

With her hands moving to rest on Kou's chest as she mounted him in one lowering thrust, she took a moment to marvel at the feeling of his expanding length starting to fill her out. She delighted in the fact that he seemed dazed, she had rarely taken the opportunity to enjoy him while taking him completely off guard. There would not be a moment of hesitation for the deer woman, she raised her hips slowly, enjoying the every inch of veined flesh as it teased her inner-cavern and her plump petals. She was swollen with need and would happily take of the nectar that her fellow fraccion offered her this night.

With nothing by a soft grunt, Apache's great ride began, as her hips once more descended upon Kousou's shaft until he was sheathed completely within her. Her spine going rigid for but a second as she arched her back ever so slightly as her hips rocked on their own, churning his spire around within her tight-lipped walls.

"Ah..." the gentle wind that broke from her lips had formed that syllable as her rhythm slowly began to develop. The arrancar woman was proud, strong, and held a grace that seemed different from both Mila-Rose and Sun-Sun; she was in this fact as graceful as a deer and it showed.

With the grounding of buttocks into the lap of the groaning shincy beneath her, with a soft huff she drew her hips up once more and bucked back down onto him. With a slick veil of her hot fluids running down the well sized length that pierced her, one could be sure of one thing and that was the punishment was just about to begin. Due to Apache's worry, her anger at worrying, seeing Kou in his present state; she had fallen into a strange bi-polar mood at which the soft had now passed and upon her face rested a look of lust.

"Since...you are so hurt, I will heal you in a way that we arrancar always take on the world: through one's harshness." the words did not leave chance for Kou's response, for as soon as they ended did her hips descend in one heavy slam.

The heavy pace that she took was having its due effects on them both, as her skin became aglow with the beads of sweat from her working body as she continued riding the shincy beneath her. She took great care to keep a slow but hard thrusting pace, this allowing her to savor every single motion made by Kou as he squirmed and tried to get a hold of himself. Her cavern clutched him tightly, with a taste for his rich essence; her snatch worked with a growing need for his release.

As Kou's body was under heavy assault from Apache's domineering actions, his shaft was pulsing helplessly within her heat, assaulted by her massaging grip; which was both tight and rippling. The actions without mercy as her hips rose slowly, with her silken purse clenching around him and urging him towards release. Though as he neared it, her walls clutched him firmly in a way that forced him to continue on in suffrage. Her grip kept him on edge and her pace forced him to remain at a high point, just before his peak; even though she refused to allow him release.

This continuing torture of Apache's continued for well over 15 minutes, as she worked herself into a potent frenzy, the arrancar female rode him clear through her first two climaxes; now with a slickness unrivaled she made her pace faster and yet did not yield to let him release. She did not desire it to end, there was something about it; that made her want it so badly that she could taste it.

It was not until her hips descended one last time that her walls and control of them suddenly ceased, as she suddenly hit a third peak; her rapture her caused her to spasm instead of holding a firm grip and this helped give way to a heavy flow of the shincy's essence into her most sacred depths. She held herself tall, refusing to fall as she felt the violent climax eating at her will to stay up; the feeling of Kou's inner-secret that had filled her now began to flow onto their laps and proceeding to ruin the sheets.

(-Mature scene over-)

As she finally fell against his arms, the deer arrancar nestled into the chest of the unconscious boy, knowing at some point she caused him to faint. That had not been the matter it seemed, she had wanted to enjoy a part of him, something that she had felt she forced out of him tonight.

"You...boy...how can you make me this way? It matters not, I'm never leaving you to part from me." the words of someone who demanded much, almost the words of a bond that she held; something that she would protect as fiercely as she did Harribel-sama. Only then did it just become true to her. As the fraccion took moved Kou's resting body to the chair, she made quick work of changing the sheets and wiping them both down; she'd take a bath with Kou in the morning or so was the plan.

Both of them knew little, what was racing ahead of the times, Kou's fate as well as all fraccion who worked with Tia Harribel...would be determined by the end of a flipping coin. So it had been done.

(End Chapter)

Well this took far too long to get out, I'm going to catch up one day, curse you real life! You do not pwn me, I pwn you!

Well with that aside I will share this little tidbit: Kou's parents will be running wild in the next chapter, soon the inevitable meeting between Fraccion/Espada and two very protective parents will come...next chapter or the following? stay tuned.


	13. Chapter: Wrath of parents & choices

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of the characters within its entirety, but I do happen to own my OCs: Kousou, his parents (Tou and Niyna Yuushin) and some of the random hollows and arrancars that may pop up now and again.**

A/N: We have an exciting chapter planned ahead, with only the mention of angry parents and the wake of destruction they leave as they break into Hueco Mundo.

I am well aware of the actual names of the fraccion being Franceska Mila-Rose, Emilou Apacci, and Cyan Sung-Sun. Just being lazy about changing them right now xD, its a lot of chapters to go through and I admit it here, just plain old lazy~

Anywho ready to move off into this, without any further adieu, here we go!

(End A/N)

Chapter XII: Wrath of parents & Choices of fraccion

Amidst the eternal night of the sandy desert, standing upon the high mound just outside of the grand palace; Niyna Yuushin looked at the castle with a look of rage in her eye. This was where these monsters had her son, she had been away from him for far too long, there would be only retribution for her son's every moment. Adjusting her quincy mantle, she shivered in the face of a cool breeze that blew over the dunes; this desolate area had a strange beauty to it.

"Come on Niyna, Kou's gotta be tired of waiting for us, It's time to go get him." the casual tone held by Kousou's father carried a knowing understanding of the battles ahead. With one thing very clear between husband and wife, the fact they were leaving with their son no matter what the obstacle.

As the quincy mother was eager to persist to the grand palace, she knew they'd have to crush the two forts that were visible from the hill they stood upon. But it did not matter to her how many arrancars they crushed, as long as she were holding her son once more. How had he suffered and what had they done? The many questions that she wanted answered would be once she was finished here. It was a time to make them all pay, they would know the wrath and fury of a quincy parent.

-Back in Las Noches-

The news about the two enormous spiritual pressures in the desert was enough to reach throughout the palace, it was of such importance that it warranted a meeting of the Espada. With such a great strength that seemed even comparable to some of the higher echelons of pressure, easily beyond the level of an average captain grade.

"...The ultimate end is for us to await these guests and to see what they are capable of. We must gauge their strength before we action." the simple strategy employed by Aizen would allow him to see details. It was sound strategy that only expended some lives of the Numeros, this was a worthy sacrifice in his mind.

Amongst the Espada the sentiment was not shared, but none bothered to argue with it. The intruders were a second pair separate from the first set of Shinigami and humans that had chosen to enter Las Noches; it wouldn't make a great difference to those remaining. Aizen instructed them to return to their chambers to do as they wish. With the meeting passed, the Tres Espada considered her thoughts as to the identity about the intruders. Somehow the reiatsu felt very familiar to her, it reminded her of her newest fraccion.

With no change in her pace or expression she had come to a quick understanding, with intentions of understanding the goal of the two; she headed to go ask the source. Returning to her palace at a calm, but brisk pace, Harribel disappeared into the hall with a calm air around her. While she had a strong feeling about where they were headed, she would confirm this and plan accordingly to settle the matter herself.

The fraccion had gathered in the main plaza of their rooms and sat at the center table together. Sun-Sun was sipping her tea and casually glancing at her two counterparts, why were they both out here today? She never understood why they were both insistent on speaking about something, but she had decided to see what drove them to ask her presence?

Choosing to speak up first, Apache planted her palm onto the table, drawing the attention of both Sun-Sun and Mila Rose to her. "Alright, the reason why we're all here is to discuss your growing interest in Kousou, Sun-Sun." she was getting to the root of it, the most 'elegant and least grotesque' of the tres bestia, was finally coming to admit something that she and Mila-Rose had accepted. That the shincy was a necessity of theirs.

"This matter is not up for discussion." the serpent princess responded with a casual disregard of her compatriot was part of her usual avoidance. However, it was not gaining her any ground today; she was quickly stopped by a hand on the table, this time by Mila-Rose.

"If we are to share Kou with you, Sun-Sun, you should be clear. Me and Apache have this understanding. So how much of an interest is it? Just slight or non-existent? I'll offer you one day every blue moon." the statement followed by a smirk, it was meant to incite a response.

Setting her cup of tea down, Sun-Sun responded with the terms that she'd worked out. Having time to observe her two fellow fraccion, it was only natural that she worked herself into an experimental equation; the two days that often left both Mila and Apache busy or otherwise encumbered.

"I will have two days...the rest belong with you, they will be the days in between two of the transition of each period of three days. If that was too complex, I will go on days 2 and 5. The rest are yours to remain with whatever you work out. I will yield those days I do not use for myself to maintain your silly cycles..." she rose and had maintained her dignity, leaving the two in some means of surprise. She had foreseen it and worked it out without their help.

With no need to draw it out, both Mila-Rose and Apache agreed to the terms with only a knowing nod, once letting Sun-Sun walk off, Apache leaned back against the chair and let her mind wander. She had been with him and could never have enough, she liked that fact...always another time to be near him. She wondered what he was doing this very minute? He was often out making tea for them, she knew something had his attention.

-With Kousou-

In his room, walking from the left side of the room and across its vast expanse, before coming to a stop at the window while he let off a breath. Why did they have to come? _Because they love you..._, the answer that he knew was a fact. He was conflicted with feelings of happiness and some fear of what would happen. His father was no slouch in fighting and his mother was sufficiently powerful enough as a quincy to fight an Espada. At least it was how he'd always gauged them, he had never known another of great power until he'd met Harribel-sama. He hated the fact that it was so hard and that he now felt this feeling...a tugging on his heart and a wish to protect his new life. Somehow he had planned to maintain this while returning to Karakura town.

**'Tough rocks kid, if anyone can sort this out, you can. You'll have to work things out.'**

'Me? Don't you mean we?'

**'You are me, you already know what I think of this situation, kid. I say damn your parents, turn on them and-'**

'End up dead? Yeah...its why I can't trust you this far.'

_'Kousou...speak with your parents, this is all you can do.'_

The world was then turned off, as Kazashiryuu forced him back to the waking world, there was no time for him to be lurking with them. The shincy himself knew this just the same, he had to prepare himself for the tidings ahead, battle was going to be severe. Could he really do something that he had a hard enough time doing during spars with his family? Could he truly raise his sword against his mother and father? The truth of the fact was that he felt he could...and that was what bothered him.

This left Kousou on edge, as he knew his parents well, they would take no prisoners here. Both his mother and father had come to rescue him and they would not stop until he was safe. But for the reasons he had feared before, the matter of his serving Harribel-sama was far more important. He understood that the very thing he was avoiding had taken root in him. There was not much he could do about it unless he confronted his parents. Something that he had to do, no one else could stop the destruction that he knew lay ahead.

When the shincy managed to compose himself enough, he headed out to the small plaza area to greet the other fraccion. It had become such a regular habit that he was free to enjoy, walking in and out and ultimately having something of a civilized relationship; albeit forced on his part. He had gotten used to it, the captivity had bled into his mind and confused him. He shoved the disagreeing thoughts from his mind, this was still no time to confront what he felt. He would indulge in a false sense of peace...even if just for this one last time.

After he had gone outside, greeting both Apache and Mila-Rose with a soft smile and a polite head nod to their directions. He had moved to greet Sun-Sun, which often did separate from his two usual visitors; sitting before her he offered the snake princess a silent greeting of a palm over fist bow. She nodded back to him and gestured for him to sit.

"Join me, Kousou, the tea is fresh." her invitation was surprising, as was the soft tone she spoke with. Wasn't she in a good mood? He had a feeling that she was feeling good for reasons that he couldn't lay his finger on exactly.

Sun-Sun poured his cup and handed it to him, giving a light nod as he thanked her gesture, just before she poured her own cup. She was observing the politest form of compliment to quietly pay Kousou during this time. The two shared the moment in a mass of a happy silence, Sun-Sun was looking intently at Kousou, expecting the young shincy to pick up on the hint. Why else was she paying so much attention?

It had been about a good five minutes before he caught on, his mind had been too full of worry to notice the look in her eye; something that he knew well. That swell of interest that filled the two orbs patiently gazing at his face. He almost froze, much like prey in the eyes of their predator. It was in that instant that she chose to speak.

"Kousou-kun, if you would join me on the terrace in my room, I will explain some things to you." she said this coolly, while turning from her company, her form rising in silence with a slithering grace befitting her hollow's basic nature. Within seconds she returned to her room and had left the door ajar.

Rather than waiting in his stunned state, he reacted and walked to her door, leaving under the weight of his fellow battle partners' stare. It wasn't the first choice in his book, but this day was one of his days off, he would spend what time he could in pleasing company. It was the sophistication of the snake princess that left him enamored with her. He took a second to compose himself before entering her private chambers, closing the door once it was behind him.

-In Sun-Sun's Chambers-

The elegant princess awaited her company on the small terrace, she'd had some hollows move the comforting chairs into her room; since she discovered how much she enjoyed tea it was perfect for it. It seemed to be a fitting excuse to have a place where she might share time with the young man she was fond of. But it had leveled out with her decision today: taking Kousou's company on a regularly basis would keep this wild urge in check. The solution had been that simple to her, for as long as she indulged then the source could not grow in intensity.

As for Kou, it was coming down from a high that he had not expected. A feeling of newness, an excitement that was rarely held, and butterflies in the stomach that culminated all of his mixed emotions were hopping around inside of him like jumping beans. It was just meeting with Sun-Sun in her room, this something was not so often lost on him, even though rare it still happened often enough. But why did he have a feeling of nervousness today? He couldn't place his finger on the reason, even though he was full of theories.

"Come Kousou, we have some things to speak about." the words were suave, they emerged with little hesitation. To her pleasant surprise, he came and did not act as timid as he had been moments ago.

The shincy approached the seat and sat himself down promptly, looking at her before starting off their conversation. "If I might say, Sun-Sun, it is pleasant to see you on this one on one basis. It is often a rare opportunity in late," a fact that she did not deny.

With the missions that had growing more numerous in response to their preparation for the invasion, Sun-Sun had seen very little personal time to herself when in comparison to her partners, while she was not the strongest; she was one of the smarter of the four subordinates to Harribel-sama: a fact that stood without question.

"So, what I need you to understand something Kousou-kun. That is the reason we are here, that reason being today is your time with me." it was simple to understand, was it not? She found it comforting that she was finally okay with admitting it.

He sat back in his seat and maintained the soft blush in his cheeks, he kept it from erupting into a full on scarlet shade that wished to take to his cheeks. Did she really feel that way about it?

"Do not overthink this, Kousou-kun. You are a special young man who is full of mystery. I will take that time to personally explore what you offer, we may become closer over the time; it is nothing that frightens me." a declaration to be sure, was it a reason? Or something more that was a statement of her seemingly impassive nature.

**(-Warning: Mature content lays ahead, if you have any reservations about this, I suggest moving forward to the next set of parenthesis-)**

The snake princess moved to his side and let her fingers rest upon his right cheek, there her soft pink orbs gazed into the soft icy blue gaze of her captivated shincy. _Her_ shincy for this night...for the day, the matter of the deal she had set with her two partners of battle had begun to sink in. For the time being she would allow herself to be lead by her feelings. For once it was going to be her greatest wish, to see things at a level more carnal; why was it that appealed to her?

_'I'll never know why I wanted to feel him so soon.' _her own words whispered in her mind as she sat herself in his lap and held his cheek ever so tenderly. She had allowed herself to surge with doubt, if but for this window of time. She had no intent of stopping now and she knew that Kousou would go along with it. He had come to be very submissive; something she did not mind given it suited her own needs. She controlled the pace of whatever they would get into, as if it were a simple matter of fact.

As the serpentine princess locked gazes with her partner in battle, though it seemed by now he meant more to her than that. She had never let this consume her, in the past she had simply come to him in the night and cleansed herself of the need. This day marked a change, she desired more than a secret nightly visit with him; it would become more because she chose to make more of it. There was only a momentary breath between the two of them before the arrancar female surprised herself greatly; she was suddenly crushing her lips against the teenage boy's without warrant. Here she held him at her mercy and shifted her position on his lap so she sat with one leg straddling his right hip, while the other rested curled oddly over her other leg.

This posture was strangely comfortable, if but for the instant that the snake princess chose to remain in it, was the very same instant that her chest was pressed to his without any hesitation; and yet for this all Sun-Sun could do was continue. With a heat devouring her mind, far greater than any feeling she'd had in the past involving him. What made Kousou such a case to her? Why did it really matter that she was close to him? The questions continued to mount in her mind and were not met with any answers. She chose to deepen the kiss and allow both of her left leg to lower to the other side of his hip; she was sure about answering to her instinct. That answer was yes.

Once giving herself the go ahead, the snake princess rose from Kousou's lap with nothing but a near perfect motion. So many times before had he seen it and still managed to be amazed by her movement, now he was still in shock over her action to kiss him and press against him with such fervor. She still was nowhere near as feral as Apache, there was still the dignity that she never allowed to leave her frame. Something that he humbly admitted to himself had made her even more desirable than she already had been. Although she hadn't Mila-Rose's figure or attitude and didn't hold the ferocity and pride of the beautiful Apache; she held herself above either of her partners in esteem and that very fact was shining to him.

With a single word, she made her intent for what activities they were to engage in, clear as day, "If you would hurry and undress Kousou-kun, we will go on to explore my eagerness together."

It was just the way that she spoke of it, as if it were something that he desired too. Did he really give it away that easily or did she simply see through him? The tension had mounted for him to find an answer, even though he cared little for it right now. Blushing while he stood up, the shincy did as she asked and proceeded to undress himself. Sliding from his quincy mantle and the top layer shirt that he'd worn, once removed both articles of clothing were folded and set to the side on top of something that looked like a bureau. Soon following the moment, his hakama-like pants were removed and folded in place as well.

To her surprise, his body was covered in some rough wounds she hadn't noticed in the past; though it was easy to understand that his once flawless form had been damaged. He had been with them for some months now and taken his duties very seriously, they had gone on mission against the stray hollow colony together; she knew that even sometimes with their healers that there could be small reminders of past mistakes.

"They left blemishes." the simple statement was an observation, but did not stop her fingertips from trailing over his shoulders and down the length of his arms. When she felt both of his exterior limbs curl around her waist, she smiled internally and continued to explore his physique's changes. Guiding her silken lips along his cheek and making a trail slowly down his neckline and towards his shoulder.

It was something that felt like a long dragged out eternity, there was a way that she could not speak about such things; to know exactly what drove her the way that he did. She found nothing more elating, as her mind began to stray from the logic that she so comfortably used; the way that she chose to conduct matters in her life. It was like an ache that she was never able to get to inside, something of a cinder that cooked with just enough inner heat that pushed her to find a way to scratch that deep. No, that was hardly it.

As she shuddered softly while her hips made an involuntary movement against Kousou's warm groin, jerking with such force that it brought a static shock up her spine. It was like something alien that she could never know without a delicate connection, something that was previously forged against her will. Never before had she delighted in the company of someone like him before; but she knew well that Kou offered that to her. It was in a way that she almost felt one of those sacred bonds, something that she mocked previously. This was not at all as beautiful as she believed it would be; it seemed easily all engulfing. She was for once the puppet and not behind the scenes, though above all else...she liked how it felt.

She thought the flaws had troubled her by appearance, to see his once smooth and clear skin full of a damage foreign to his flesh before he'd come to them. But she knew better, inside she knew it was a sign of his fragility, of his growth; a determination that kept him alive in their presence. He had learned to adapt and to serve their lady very well, in a way she was proud of him for it: she adored the fact that he had come to this all on his own. There was little in life that could push her understanding, not like this boy who had become the greatest mystery to her in so short a time. How was it likely that someone like he could have been loyal to Harribel-sama and serve with no hesitation, while keeping true to his beliefs, to such a point that he was still unsure about how to react to a threat that was his family?

Thoughts for another time, it was something that the snake princess was sure of, both time and again. Without another moment to lose, she dismissed her previous focus and returned to his shoulder; biting on it softly and then sliding her tongue along his muscular shoulder. Stopping only to nip him and draw back, with as it seemed, no purpose to the bite mark she'd given him. It was _her_ mark. Something that she had finally given into making, finally the elegant serpent had given into her very desires and would partake of his flesh. She would make sure that he felt all that she had to offer to him; while demanding from him in a subtle touch that would tease him with a heat unlike any other.

The carnal need within Sun-Sun was without parallel, as she found her attention on his left pectoral muscle, at which she took a moment to note the delicate features of his skin. What was it about him that managed to stay so slender? She'd expected someone of his features to put on more muscle, with how well fed Kousou was, how did he keep his muscles so lean? Shaking away the pointless thought, she resume her attack on his physique. Her lips closed around his nipple and her teeth bit down, almost harshly on his sensitive node, and to her success she felt him jump.

"S-Sun..ahh..!" his words were almost immediately silenced as he felt his lower regions fondled. What was with the sudden haste he wondered? Sun-Sun preferred to toy with him, at least she often had in the past. She was all kinds of aggressive right now, with the way her palm curled around his length and her fingers kneaded the sensitive flesh; he could tell that she would not wait. There was no way to know how fast she'd have this, but one thing was for sure and that that her efforts were being met with almost flying colors.

To her pride, she could feel his manhood becoming engorged with blood and thickening under her kneading fingertips. Just as the flesh was starting to gain a rigidness to it, the calculating snake princess guided his member down; moving it against her left thigh and towards her sacred point. There was no chance for the shincy to know, all he would feel was his sensitive head poking at cloth and then engulfed by a tight and clenching portal that chose to devour him. Feeding upon the heat gnawing around in her stomach, finally Sun-Sun gave into her most whet appetite and could only let off a deep muffled moan. This spire was what her battle partners fought over, this feeling...this moment...this mood. It was a glorious period and still just skimming the surface of what she planned to enjoy.

Taking a moment to savor his maleness filling her walls, her eyes shut and she leaned back in his lap; giving Kou's legs some gentle squeezes with her thighs as she adjusted her backside as she pressed back against him. There was a comfortable moment she was having with him steady beneath her, there was nothing better than this feeling. After a breath escaped her lips, Sun-Sun raised her hips and then dropped herself back into his lap with a gentle breath pushing from her lips.

Why did it feel so good? As another moan passed through her lips, she pressed down against him and slid his length back into her love cavern; as a shudder ran through her body she could feel a heavy crest dragging her through her channel of passion. With another audible vocal octave had been hit, it was a clean moan from her and for once she could not hide what she felt: true desire for Kousou. It had done nothing more than let her know that she wanted more, something that she would take from his connection. There was no harmony and yet there was a heavy feeling between them.

"Nnhh...ah..." two sounds which came from her husky tone, it showed a dangerous increase in her desire. She bit down on her bottom lip and wrapped her arms firmly around his neck, rising her hips up slowly and dropping down into his lap with an audible slap coming from her once more.

Kou felt her movements start slowly and sighed softly each time she had sheathed him inside of her, to feel her powerful muscles groping his spire of flesh, the tight clenching around his skin left him in a hot daze. Held captive by the torturous strength of a desperate arrancar woman who was experiencing a craving that he had not seen in either of his other partners this far; was this what repressing one's desires did? The animalistic stare in her eye told him worlds, but none could prepare him for the intensity that he had not tasted. Not until now.

For Sun-Sun, her vision had become a hazy mess and her pink orbs had become vibrant glowing orbs of a magenta; her pupils now in the pattern of a reptilian's glare all that lacked was the change. Her slow but tight pace had been causing more pent up emotions to gather, she knew of nothing that burned her insides more. A need to feel the ridged veins tear into her walls became a great demand on her mind. She craved it like no other had, it would be **hers**. Her hips moved as if guided by their own force and with hammering force her backside slammed into his lap and forced his shaft into her wanton tunnel heatedly, eliciting a loud moan that was muffled by her face being pressed in Kou's neck. It seemed as if she'd had enough of it at first, taking a moment to pant and shiver at the sensation that raced through her physiology; it had been so incredible just how was anything to compare to it?

As the arrancar woman claimed her prey, there was nothing more satisfying than her hold on him now. As she watched him writing in the seat beneath her, his hands haphazardly holding her body as muscles worked against his body with a motion unparalleled by either the flexibility of Apache or the ingenuity of Mila-Rose; she was setting a whole new standard for the method of _force _that was being applied to him. The sounds only seemed to grow more intense between them as her walls suckled hungrily on his throbbing member, forcing him to hold back any climax or sexual fluids that wished to flow into her; she forced them back like a heavy tide behind a weakening levy. Very little seemed capable of satisfying her as her force grew harder: the slaps becoming strong slams, her rolling hips becoming more of a fluid motion as if commanded by a hydraulic press. She moved with an authority and commanded her body better than anyone he'd been with before, a fact that Sun-Sun both did not know and honestly was not even close to considering. She was at a level of bliss that had not been so much as grazed by their previous encounters.

Within moments Sun-Sun's hips had become a force all to themselves, with her dress flailing up and down as her once entirely graceful act had evolved into a state of mounted strength, impressive handling of her positioning, and all while managing to piledrive his now overly throbbing member inside of her. With breathing that matched something more along the lines of a rasping warrior on their last leg, the serpent princess was moving with a purpose of reaching an overwhelming peak. It was to be the most mind-numbing agent to hit her since she'd been defeated in the past. There was nothing that would touch her quite the same as the anxious outcome of her plowing hips and his hot essence filling her once she reached her own peak; there would be no way to guard against the flow of hotness burning through her veins. Kousou would deliver a white light that she had never seen, something that she allowed herself only the most basory form of pleasure in, this time had past and would not be denied her again.

"So much..." she hissed as she clenched around him, holding his neck close and leaning her face into his skin as she rocked harder against him; nothing seemed to matter else to her. Just the tickle in her stomach that grew with a fierce intensity, the burning would not yield in the way. She found it to her liking, something that could taste so strong, without a flavor that could be understood, surely there was nothing stronger!

Kousou's reactions had not been noticed, he had been nothing shy of flailing beneath her. Wanting to speak up, but finding no words that would pass his lips. He was truly trapped in this vice of pleasure and had nothing better to know, it was to him as something that was fleeting in the tide. He was that helpless leaf blowing in the wind and making the action as best as one could manage. Still he held onto her for dear life as each action flailed her against his hips with greater force still, with a steely grip that she held on his member and his growing need to release on the brink it was a matter of time before his essence would blow. If only she had known what she was doing to him, he was trapped and it was in such a way that he knew he wasn't going to explode. To have her the way she was right now in the most insane way, was in fact still not sane. The pressure that his body was taking seemed to not only be exhausting him; but it was also helping him to act even more brash.

In her throes of passion, Sun-Sun knew of only a dull light that she saw in the ends of her vision, beyond her closed lids was a promised land that she was tasting the brim of. She had to move harder, as the sparks picked up inside of her mind and her spirit; her reiatsu crackling to life actively around her. As she groaned again and planted her bottom in Kou's lap while she kissed him sloppily; hungry for the taste of innocence beneath his lust. It was something that she was quick to claim and even faster to take, she pinned him again and pumped her hips still harder, it almost seemed a wonder as to how much force she could generate. With so much heat between her mind and what her focus was, the goal was of course beyond the immediate grasp; it was something that her wiggling hips desired from the only male amongst their leader's fraccion.

The shifts in reiatsu was not something that went unnoticed, as anyone who was nearby could easily sense the fluctuations of pressure in the air. As the Shark Empress felt the shifts of energy on the air, there were several things that she noticed about it. It was Sun-Sun and Kousou, she could feel both of their pressure and the fluctuations within them. What were the nuances that she could make out? The emotional states of both of her fraccion was easy to see: they were bound in passion, encircled by a desire to reach something together, Sun-Sun was untamed in a way that Harribel had not seen before. Was this what Kousou brought to her ladies? She had confirmed this a time ago for Mila-Rose and Apache and now this made all three of her fraccion bound to the same young man.

There was dissension at first, but they had made amends and simply shared time with him, what was it about him that drew out such reactions? Harribel herself had spent time with the youth to see what it was about him that was special, she had trained him personally over a period of a week and a half and he met her satisfaction for control over his hollow powers. He was a careful young man who was understanding, malleable, compassionate to a fault, and as she felt now...strangely loving to those who would be his captives. She knew that her fraccion forced themselves upon him and yet here he was a victim of stockholm syndrome, struggling to maintain an identity that was once his own? The confusion was there, but one thing that she caught deep from within him was in fact his feelings and they'd come. He was a beacon of kinds and there was no refuge from that fact, he was there and loyal to her, a true sacrifice waiting to give himself up for her purpose. He was truly one of her fraccion.

While the Tres Espada was left to her thoughts, in the room below it seemed to be coming to its final stride. As the serpentine felt her tickle flare to life, her back arched back completely, in the inhuman way that drew her back curling over the shincy's arms as he grabbed her; clutching to her for dear life while her body moved united. Her silken purse beat into his spire, her lower lips gnashing him like a starving wildchild; giving way to her innerwalls clinching his flesh and rippling around him as if trying to submission him. It was a climax that was unlike any other before it, suited to her nature she did not scream, she hissed so loudly that the symphonic harmony shuddered the floor. Full of her reishi, the sounds gave way as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and then her body seized. With such potency that it was nothing that Kousou would remember, as she strangled him below.

Her climax was simply too strong, it was nothing like what he'd felt before; all he kenw was that she lost control. As his essence erupted with the force to be undenied...no longer did her titantic strength hold him back. All that hit them was a flush beam of white light that engulfed them, it cradled them and rolled them softly on the channel of carnality's peak point. A washway that would soon drop them into the blackness of sleep. It was all very sudden, the heightened power had been a certain trigger for their bodies to have hit something and then, nothing at all.

**(-Mature Scene has ended-)**

Awakening to the feeling of a very soft cushion beneath his body, the achey Kou tried to sit up, only to stop once he felt a weight over his body, he was quickly able to deduce that he had been put here by Sun-Sun. As his eyes glanced over her resting form, inside all he could consider was how surprised he was by all of the actions she'd taken. Sun-Sun had broken most of the rules that he knew her to play by and had a major stroke of change, even if just for this time it had impacted him. His body was still feeling the soreness from being handled by her, as of course he knew full well that no matter how one put it, the fact was that an arrancar's physical strength was greater than what most bodies could tolerate. He was fortunate to be as durable as he was up to a point, it managed to let him hold the situation in his favor. This and despite any wish to move more than one limb at a time was purely ignored by the rest of his body, there was no way he would be able to push his own actions any further than he had so far.

"Cleaning you was a little troubling...but I found the experience invigorating." the soft whispers that escaped the lips of the drowsy Sun-Sun as she adjusted herself against his body. For what was natural to her, to seek her own personal space did not seem to apply to her right this moment. She chose to curl into his body and the feelings that offered, a warmth that reached into the depths of her spirit and bring out a wish for her to never let that go. She felt greedy if not almost paranoid about it, was this...the kind of thing that she witnessed? For a time when she observed both Mila-Rose and Apache fighting over Kousou in the past, this was almost exactly what she sensed from them. A rather blind hostility that left her wanting to her something or more to break someone's will and force them to kneel on the ground. What was it about her guest? Her sweet lover had something that filled his innocence and gave something greater. It was a call that could not be denied; oh the very ways she was happy that she did not ignore the urges. She felt that they would've devoured her from within.

This was the strange feeling of separation that she felt, it was a barrier that both of her predatorial counterparts had hidden well. Though to a keen observer there was no such thing as something 'well hidden' it was only something that 'could be found' and the level of quickness only changed. There was no one way to say it or leave it to part as it wished; it was why Sun-Sun was always one to play hardball with. She was sill in control of herself: her mind, her body, her desires, her intentions, her will, her very focus were all subject to her well established control. There was never anything that would be out of her hand that was hers as far as the limits. She might not be able to control every aspect, but controlling herself completely was a huge advantage that she'd secured through numerous years of practice.

"So what now Kou-kun? We are...closer do you not think?" she said this with a soft smile while strumming her fingers through his hair, still sliding her fingertips along the side of his lush hair; she almost wanted to ask how he did it? But of course that was something for a much later period.

He offered her a little breath, just shutting his eyes to blink again before he let his fingers cup her cheek for the moment. There was no way that he could answer this her question, just how did he feel? As Kou did feel closer to her since they'd bonded this time, it was not unlike anything he was familiar with before. Soon things would come into question...he just had no idea how soon.

-Outside Hueco Mundo-

As another hollow fell before the sweeping katana, which buried its mark inside of yet another hollow's face in the following moments. With a small sigh the paternal feelings in him began to well for a moment, was this what his wife felt? He couldn't help but notice the small 'ping' of his heart and the momentary hesitation in his blade as he desired to know what happened to his son. He could sense him faintly, with all of the hindering features of the palace's setup, it amazed him that he could sense him.

"We have to hurry, Tou. Our child needs us, we can't let this...monster do this." Niyna's voice was level but beneath the calm were restrained emotions and a desire to embrace her child. She had not wanted to think what had happened, but she knew it inside.

Something had come to alter their child, likely this event would not leave him unscathed. In that fact, she aimed to pay every hollow here for his every moment of suffering, as they dared to take him from the safety of her home. As her inner-feelings stirred, her accuracy only seemed to become sharper; as each arrow she released would mercilessly find its way into the hollow that lined her path. As her metallic bow gained a small red stripe along the center of its quincy cross, her darker emotions became quite clear, even to her husband.

"Niyna, calm down." the words came softly, but surprisingly stern as his left arm curled around her waist. Forcibly stopping her continued path while he let his hand pat her side while he looked into her eyes. With his dark hair covering the side of his face while his brown eye focused on the soft features of his wife's cheeks, the anger was present as if it was sewn into her skin.

"You know why we're here, don't lose control now. Kousou is going to need you with a clear mind, you'll need to relax, otherwise you might just hurt him when facing his captors. Don't forget that we have no room for error. These are the Espada holding him, we won't have any chance if we're not completely together." he said this knowingly while several fingertips found their way across her chin, drawing her to look at him.

At least for the momentary window was Niyna quieted, she couldn't believe she had lost control so easily. But it was for her as anything more would be, she was still human and even moreso a mother to her only son; it was natural that she wanted the best outcome for his life. Giving her husband a just nod, she took to drawing from his grasp and resuming her lead into the lower halls of the castle. How many had the duo destroyed? She was wondering where was the main force? They knew that there were two more intruders in the building and nothing had so much as slowed them down.

While Niyna was left to her thoughts, Tou kept his wits about him and made sure that no one was sneaking up on them. As sure as things were proceeding it seemed a little too smooth and neither he nor Niyna were buying the ease of their infiltration. The reasoning was answered as they entered the next great hall, just as Tou had imagined the sudden pressure in the room around them bore down viciously; threatening to choke the consciousness out of anyone weaker than a standard lieutenant range. Niyna stood before the figure at the end of the hall with a look of determination burning in her eyes.

"Where is my son?" the words needed no precursor, and were responded to with a cold grace, befitting the Cuatro Espada.

"That is not of your concern, you are enemies of Aizen-sama and you will be eliminated." the pale-faced Espada drew his blade, with the obvious sense that these opponents were grades above the other intruders, as it suited the information available on the target they were enough to be considered a serious threat.

Moving with speed that rivaled the Siete Espada, perhaps more...? The direct slash was blocked with no effort from Aizen's most loyal Espada, the blade was held steady while the two met eyes.

"You'd better show a whole lot more...or I'll erase you here." the unusually dark words came, following a gesture of his strength; as he braced against the enemy blade and threw him back with a burst of reiryoku.

With an echo off of the nearby walls, the two combatants traded blows. As Tou ducked beneath an overhead slash, avoiding the blade narrowly as it cleanly cut his hair's ends. Earning a small smirk from from him as his sweeping sword in a rising adjacent swipe, attempting to bisect the arrancar before him. The attempt was once more thwarted by deflection with his katana, a violent raking of the meeting blades left sparks flying through the air.

The lack of action from the second intruder had crossed the calculating Espada's mind for but a moment, while he blocked another few slashes he was considering the strength of his opponent. An evaluation showed that this was having no effect on him, despite the pressure involved in the battle that his opponent was having some fun instead.

A familiar voice quickly explained away any thought of where the second intruder was, "You stupid bitch! stay still and let me crush you!" as the grumpy giant's fist slammed the ground and hit nothing; another two arrows were released into his chest. Breaking his hierro with little trouble, Niyna slid backwards through the air on a reishi platform; while she shifted backwards and released two forged arrows into the lumbering titan's shoulders.

As the feminine figure disappeared from the diez espada's vision he angrily snorted and broke the arrows binding his shoulders with brute force. While casting his glare around the space, he deflected several arrows with his knuckles, finding that each of the sharp edges were grating his hierro and leaving marks much to his growing annoyance.

"Stop hiding, god damn you!", the words fell upon deaf ears as he was greeted by pelting bolts of varying size from every direction.

Soon the show of Niyna's actual speed became just that clear as all the lumbering Yammy found were after images while he was under a shower of arrows from all around him, it seemed somehow to be from every conceivable direction. There he was quick to respond to the vulnerable instants, he launched a few blind bala fired from his knuckles.

Something that Niyna had hoped to see, it was about time for her to enact her trap surprise on him, she wanted this to end quickly; she wanted to find her son and not waste another moment. The ground had been carefully weakened by a few arrows earlier and the moment was nearing," Is this the extent of your power, espada?" the seed was planted as she hoped.

It was all she needed, as Yammy stomped the floor upon his next step and almost immediately following this, did he stumble into the hole below. "What the hell is this?!" the words had no sooner left him before her voice appeared by his right ear.

"A going away gift." was all that the quincy said, before releasing a potently charged arrow into his upper shoulder and sent him straight below. Sent through the floors below the ground, his body becoming nothing but a memory as he disappeared in the floors below. While Niyna turned her head to find her husband still locked up with the Espada, she had to admit it was a surprise to see anyone capable of facing Tou; but she was anything but surprised since this was an **arrancar**, the accursed beings that dragged her son into this.

As Tou completed yet another pass with the Espada, he found that he was getting nowhere. What had been fun earlier was now becoming a hindrance, he had to change the rhythm of the battle and lowered his palm to the top of his blade; almost immediately following this was a serious increase in pressure around his body as a soft sea green aura built up around his body.

_'Finally Tou, you get serious.'_ Niyna said nothing and instead drew back to a safe distance, as she knew better than to be so close whenever her husband released his zanpakuto; it was always something new whenever he did.

"Part the clouds and soar, Getsushiryuu(Moon Dragon)!" the action forced things to change rather quickly, as the chinese-styled tiger fork was thrust at the face of the fourth Espada, it was immediately blocked by Ulquiorra's blade being raised vertically.

The battle was intensifying under the growing pressure was something that any Espada in the surrounding zones wound have noticed, it was not lost upon them in the slightest; it became clear that this was not to pass notice. And with the Tres Espada and her fraccion in preparation for the war with the Shinigami, she had one more thing to ask her newest assistant; what was his desire?

-With Harribel-

Standing at the threshold of Kousou's door, clearly she could sense that he'd returned there after his visit to Sun-Sun's room, with the aim to ask him about how he felt knowing his parents were present. As she politely knocked upon his door, there the tres espada awaited his appearance at the front door. Something that he responded to quickly.

"Harribel-sama? Please come in." the shincy's words were clear the instant that he stepped back, the invitation was given while he turned to get his espada some tea, he knew that she enjoyed it well enough.

When stepping into the threshold of the young shincy's room the nubile espada cannot help but notice the efforts to make the room more like home: the roomy tatami mats that had been stitched together and left in several areas around the private stead of his. Still Harribel was pleased that he had come along so far, it was not just something forced or the act that it had been before he truly applied himself to his duties.

The awkward silence between the two was broken by the Espada as she came out with a question; designed to help her confront whatever truth that he was after. She would base her next decision off of the choice that he made, after such sacrifices that he'd made for the cause of Aizen, no...her cause for no more needless fighting she would respect Kousou the way he deserved.

"As I am certain you realize Kousou, your parents are here and to this end I ask a simple question: Would you return to them now?" the obviousness of it had not been lost on the youth, as she examined his unchanging expression of calm, he gave her an answer.

"I will return to them once I have aided you, Harribel-sama. I came here with purpose to survive, but it became more than that. My parents raised me in mind with the mindset to complete one's duty, right now mine is to you." the words were unfaltering, perhaps a complete ode to stockholm syndrome or a combination of that with his mannerisms.

But the answer was not exactly what the Tres Espada expected from her youngest fraccion. Though the Espada did not hesitate in her quick response, "Then prepare yourself for war, Kousou-kun. It is no less than a day's time from now." there was no way to prepare for it; but she told him to.

Tia Harribel was a woman of principle, she knew her fraccion fairly well despite not knowing them perfectly, she knew what to expect from all except Kousou. He was loyal to her, with an enthusiasm that could bring him fault, yet he still remained a slight mystery. She had spent one night with him and felt something strange, beyond his mannerisms and lifestyle choices was a unshakable will that burrowed in deeply. This was something that she'd put to rest tomorrow, the mystery of the shincy who proudly stood as her fraccion in the face of those held dearest before him.

The exchange was silent between them, as she shared tea with Kou at the small tea table that had been made for him. It was a small request and easy to grant and while they observed the enjoyable period of sipping tea with purpose, she studied him very intently and was again considering something. Often the only way to understand something was to unveil all of its secrets, even if the thing in question made no efforts to hide them, greater efforts were sometimes necessary to get into the mind of the thinker.

"Kousou, we will spend the evening together this night." her words were gentle, but with a firmness that spoke volumes. The hours had become ahead were far and few in between and there would be where the discovery would come, even should she draw it out through control.

He responded with a soft nod, having no problem with her wish to stay in his room. Since she'd visited with him some time ago, the sensation of entertaining Harribel-sama was ebbed by the fact. He felt relaxed in her presence and was able to hold up his general demeanor, a calm composure that betrayed nothing on his behalf. The very thing that the Tres Espada had intended to breakdown this same night, as little did he know of her intentions here. She would see through him as did she all of the things that came before the shark empress.

At the offering of some small baked goods, Harribel politely declined the snacks and simply observed him in his nature. Having moved to the larger cushion-styled bed for her comfort, still the nubian arrancar watched her fraccion as if he were prey: with careful consideration of each action and the meaning behind them. As like any other being or creature, either their actions meant nothing or the intent was hidden beneath a composure possessed by few. She could see that Kousou was one such individual.

It was not until later on that Harribel had chosen to break the routine that Kou formed for the night, with a hand to his shoulder as he headed to the bed, it was clear that she had something to say to him,"You continue to be a measure of success, but as one does you have your secrets, the question that draws me to you Kousou." her words ending as her fingertips moved to his cheek, cupping it gently as she turned him to face her.

It was a gaze very unfamiliar to him, there was nothing that he seemed to grasp about it. Since Kou was not used to feeling a stare on him before, he was more confused than anything else at this point. This was nothing of a hunger, disgust, want, hatred, or even a knowing look in Harribel-sama's eye...it seemed more telling than anything else. Where did that seat him? He was naturally uncomfortable under the gaze even though he'd attempted to keep that fact unclear. But the mood changed from tense to nervousness once she began stroking his cheek while gazing into his eyes deeply.

"Children hold secrets...but teenagers transition...from my understanding of humans, especially males; they lack depth and creativity and this makes them shallow in meaning. They are unlike the females who have more to them, not all are the same, something that you've proven time and again." her words were simply informing him that her views had changed since knowing him, seeing his actions up close and coming to know what more he was capable of. What were the limits of that? Something even she did not know.

The shark empress guided her subject back to the bed and sat him down, while she stood in front of him and still looked into that innocent face that was now a soft scarlet in shade. It reminded her of a single word that she'd heard before, a thing that applied now. The word that came to mind was cute. As if it were a lecture to share, the Espada continued her explanation of what brought them to this point they were at now: why she was in his room tonight.

"That very secret that you share with your partners of battle, when they come to you in the night, you share the whispers of that truth. You are far more than one simple person, Kousou Yuushin. I will peel back the layers and in my personal edge will come to understand you." Her face came closer to his, by now as she pressed her cheek against his own and whispered the last few words, "Barriers will not bar this." it was certain that her mind was made up.

And before the shincy, his mind began to race as he realized exactly what this meant. The admiring that he'd done, all of his buried emotions were going to burst. It seemed that his heart rate and how it had drawn up, the feeling of her fingers against his chin. All of it was a massively overwhelming feeling that was gobbling him up from within. The draw of being with her was certainly beyond his mental scope, it was nothing that the youth ever considered. Though as he felt her laying him back to the cushion, her words paid stroked an ego very deep within.

"Your sacrifice is what has brought you this gain, Kousou, I will explore all there is to know, for myself." there would be no more words between them, as while the shincy's parents faced off with the Espada, a new bond would be forged and perhaps the final nail slating an unbreakable tether between the shincy and his present home...the command he felt a need to follow. All would be answered at once, what it might be; certainly would be without a warning.

(End Chapter)

We have a long awaited chapter coming to an end, I think things may finally grow serious! While I leave you all with a small cliff hanger, we will soon find out, just what desperation drives some parents to do. Will Ulquiorra prove too much for Kou's parents? A bridge to cross in the next chapter!

Until then I bid you all adieu

-Quentix


	14. Chapter: Change of currents

A/N: Who'd have thought I'd be suddenly picking up steam, is another chapter on the loose? Why yes it is! Prepare yourself for a quick and impacting chapter. This new exciting chapter will bring us straight to the Winter War, how will it begin? All from one standpoint and just how far is Kousou willing to go to help the arrancar? We will find our most surely as this continues. Stay tuned!

And minor reminders:

_'This speech belongs to_: Kazashiryuu- Kousou's female zanpakuto spirit

**'This speech belongs to:** Yami-Kou(Dark Kou/Houkou) his inner-hollow

'This speech belongs to: Kousou Yuushin

and all of the speech above is in his mind and cannot be heard by anyone else.

(End A/N)

Chapter XIII: A shift in currents, the actions of an Empress

The night between both fraccion and espada had passed with little incident, only that the shark empress was presently laying over her still sleeping subordinate with an unreadable expression on her features. It was as if she was trying to get some kind of answer from him as he slept; something that not a single word could get out on its own. Just what was it about Kousou? It was a question that would have to wait a long period of time, undeterminable judging by the resistance of the shinigami. But finally it would come to pass and no one would ever have to sacrifice again: this was the ultimate goal of the Tres Espada. She knew that all of her fraccion would help her towards this goal, whatever the war's outcome she would be in their debt. Such loyalty that was undefined by anything short of sheer servitude and that was only through their faith and believing in her. It was something that kindly caught her awe: what had she done to earn this degree of devotion from the four fraccion she was indebted to have…whatever forces had allowed it did have her thanks.

She would have to give her thanks to Kousou's parents for their part in this as well: for even though they were obvious enemies in this moment just by association, it was they who created their son. The very reason that brought them here today, she knew of their will to rescue him and a secondary focus on the other human in their midst. It was nothing that honestly troubled her, despite not knowing the upper echelons of their strength, which even at this point was undetermined. Just the fact that Kou's father apparently was facing off with Ulquiorra single-handedly spoke of his process with a blade, she had surmised that he was likely a Captain-level opponent who easily surpassed the imagination. He was something comparable to his son, but much stronger and more refined. His reiatsu was clear of any taint of hollow powers, but it was something that she knew instinctually. There was no chance that Kousou would have learned about the hollow nature of his powers without an instructor to show him: Tou Yuushin was certainly a Vaizard himself.

It explained the battle that she was feeling below, as the two energies rose in order to meet the demand of the other. It was comparable to an all too familiar struggle of shinigami and hollow, a feud that was growing to a near climax by this point. There would not be any way simpler to have this effort put aside; she imagined that Ulquiorra would have to do something more serious soon. He was not pleased with having his opponent hold their ground as easily as she knew that Tou was. Would he try to tilt the match in his favor quickly?

-The lower levels of Las Noches-

As a blast of pure reiryoku cracked the surrounding pillars, Tou drew back Getsushiryuu and twisted the polearm with masterful handling, something clear that despite his inconsistent activity that at least the practice had showed off the success at present. He wasn't so surprised that the Cuatro Espada was handling all he dished out, in the fact that he batted aside some of the raw energy from his zanpakuto, it was natural to understand that he was rapidly gaining respect for his opponent. Though out of almost sheer urgency he knew that he had to end this and quickly. Something was going to happen and simply put: neither he nor Niyna could allow it to happen.

"We've played long enough Ulquiorra, it's time for me to give you a sample of some of my true power." The grin that was present on the vaizard's face before was back again as his left hand rose to part over his face, immediately the sea green took a dark red shade that followed around it, as the energy surged in from the surrounding space and the mask began to form from nowhere. The Chinese-Lion mask that appear was three colors: Dark red around the edges, the face was a bright sea green, and the decorative markings were golden.

The surge of energy was enough to throw the cuatro espada back in his tracks somewhat, as the pressure built around Tou's body for a second, as he locked his eyes upon the intruder's form he was a blurred mass who moved past his right-Had he escaped his pesquisa for a moment? The pale white skin was visible on his left arm, sliced finely by the sudden action. So his power had increased this much? It was still of no matter since it was simply a matter of overcoming the odds, something that he more than had the means to do. It was just going to take a moment of focus for him before he would delve straight through his foe. As Ulquiorra reached into the tremendous depths of his power, a heavy surge fell over the surrounding space while taking a dark green glow in the sudden instant he released it.

As the two disappeared from view once again, passing each other rapidly and meeting blades, it became clear who held the initiative and the advantage of the battle as it were. What things were going to happen would come to pass very quickly. Once the cuatro espada had pointed his katana at Tou, ignoring the new slice along his right arm entirely, a new pressure entered the surrounding space and offered very little comfort to Niyna who could at least tell that this new combatant had an espada-level reiatsu. The appearance of Wonderweiss meant one thing to Ulquiorra: that he had to take the woman and ensure that Kurosaki Ichigo did not interfere with rescuing her. It was obvious to the number 4 espada that the near mute arrancar would serve a fine purpose when facing off with these two intruders, despite their great strength.

"Wonderweiss, I will leave them to you." was all the cuatro espada said before he'd disappeared in a quick haze, leaving only the resonant sound of the 'blur' sound in the air. At first there was a moment of silence between the three, something that came to an end once Wonderweiss looked to them and tilted his head to the side.

"Haaohh?" as if asking a question, the arrancar moved faster than Niyna could react and with his hand aimed for her chest, attempted to kill her.

The attack surely would have succeeded if her husband had not headed off the sudden move, something that Tou reacted harshly to in that very stead. As Wonderweiss's hand was violently slashed away from his wife's direction, the polearm's blunt end was brought down from a quick spin and brought down on the youthful appearing arrancar's neck with tremendous force. The blow that sent a tremor throughout the room's vast expanse, as a large plume of dust and energy shot off from the impact from Tou's blow; he'd taken advantage of this moment and made a quick use of shunpo with his wife in tow.

Though Niyna had caught the latter end of the actions, she found herself still in shock as her husband dragged her down the hall at his incredible speed. The surrounding world was nothing but a blur to her and as she reached for the words to ask her husband what had just happened, she instinctively caught herself and increased her pace; trying to match his speed. She knew that the true power of her husband was well beyond her own; despite the fair amount of power she wielded.

"We're getting to our son now, Niyna. That guy back there...he's something else and we don't have time for him. I know I couldn't beat him without use of _it._ You know that even you wouldn't handle the energy from it well, I can't risk you." his words were full of something uncommon for him: worry.

She gave him a soft nod, it was true that if he were to use his Bankai that she would probably have been seriously hurt, given the fact she couldn't follow his mask enhanced reiatsu without great focus. Normally she would have seen Wonderweiss's movements given her sensory talents, easily surpassing that of most individuals who excelled at it, at least amongst her siblings. Niyna chose to put those talents to use right now and reached out for Kousou, reaching out with her skills in order to find their son, it would help to locate him. It felt like something of an eternity to her, sifting through various reiatsu readings that were obviously arrancar in nature, she felt something that troubled her: several small traces of her son's reiatsu. As if parts of him were being shared by someone, what was going on?

"Where are we going, Niyna?" it was almost as if her husband knew, it was one of those things that he did that irked her.

"Up, go up right now! He's in trouble, I feel him strange, scattered...fragmented, hurry the hell up Tou, now!" her turn lost all of her containment, her emotions exploded and her reiatsu rose in order to meet her desperation.

Heeding his wife's reaction, Tou did just what she asked and leapt up towards the ceiling, spinning Getsushiryuu wildly in order to slice the stone material into chunks and clear the path for them. Finally they'd found Kousou, Tou had plans to grab Kou first and then worry about the trouble from their opponents after. He knew that Niyna needed to get it together, seeing his wife surge out of control bugged him. He'd have to take it out on their opponents for all of this trouble, oh yeah there would be hell to pay.

-Back with Kousou and the fraccion-

The shincy had shuddered as he followed Mila-Rose, Sun-Sun, and Apache into the over sized transport gateway room. Feelings of dread began to fill his consciousness and brought out second thoughts about his choices, he knew exactly why his mother and father had stepped into Hueco Mundo. His mind could not help but leave him in fear for those he'd grown close to, his battle partners and lovers...yes he could say that now _lovers_, something that came as a result of a rape in one way or another. He was fully aware of just how it happened, why he chose not to be conflicted about it was something of denial? None of it really mattered since only one thing would happen when his mother and father arrived: they would slaughter the three women in front of him and fight Harribel. He knew the wrath of his parents only in passing: a near torturous level of training that was supposed to improve him and teach a lesson. What would they be like when they were truly upset? As he felt his parents reiatsu getting closer, he felt very unsettled and almost hoped that they could just hurry through the barrier already; since the pace of his parents was many times that of the light pace taken by the Tres Espada and fraccion as they stopped by the large gateway. He felt slightly better, the targets that were truly responsible were in this room. He hoped that both of his parents would focus on the very same fish that was sought out by Soul Society: the traitorous, Aizen Sosuke.

No sooner had he looked to see if Aizen, Gin, or Tousen would react to his parents and their fast approach to their location. Finally Tousen responded by placing his hand on his zanpakuto as both of his parents' reiatsus shook the room and the blind captain chose to turn his head back towards the doorway.

"There's no need for that Tousen-san, allow our guests into the room." the words coming from the soft smirk ever present on Aizen's face.

The door was hardly a barrier for Tou Yuushin's blade, as a single swing brought a violent cleave that bisected the door and as if a surreal moment, both Yuushin parents were staring at their son for the first time in a number of months: a moment eternal for both shincy and his parents. Tou stepped forward and gripped his zanpakuto tighter around the center while assessing the total reiatsu levels in the room, as he suspected each of them were many times stronger than the one he'd been fighting earlier. There were enough in the present that starting a battle with all of them would end in his and Niyna's death. He spat at the ground and looked at Aizen with cool eyes, forcing himself to take a step back while he considered the best means of proceeding here. With his son mere feet from him he had not intended to back down, not after coming so far.

"So Aizen, why'd you do it? Why did you take my son captive?" Niyna's words got straight to the point, she felt no need to put anything less than pressure on the traitor before them. She knew that in his standing his arrogance would suit his own purposes, she needed to stay calm.

"Your son made me curious, as to how both the powers of a shinigami and a quincy could show themselves evenly without ripping him apart? He handles the pressures well and even manages to be a mock arrancar...he is an excellent subject to study. I've been observing him for some time." the warlord turned his back to them and pressed his fingers against the fabric of space, reacting to his touch the Garaganta formed out of thin air and opened in a massive gate of black cloudy space.

Niyna reacted first and formed her bow faster than anyone who was watching her could react, she had her sights set on the back of Aizen's neck, but had not fired.

"You are going to let him come back with us or so help me..." determination was steadfast in her voice, what more could she do? She couldn't let Kou go into this, she knew what was on the other side of the gate.

"You are my guests in my palace, you may stay as you wish. I'm afraid your son is going to help me attend to a matter, now if you'll excuse me." the words casually ignored the ultimatum and he took himself straight into the gateway of darkness, with the Espada members and their respective fraccion following with no words to either of the shincy's parents.

No sooner had he stepped to the garaganta, did Niyna release her charged arrow aimed for the ex-fifth captain's neck. The result was the arrow being sliced in two by the blind ex-9th captain's blade. As Aizen disappeared into the belly of darkness, soon the Primera and Segunda Espada did as well. This left only the Tres Espada and her fraccion as a collective briefly watching the desperate display of Kousou's parents. Niyna quickly disappeared in mid-step via the use of Hirenkyaku(Flying Screen Step), she tried to grab Kou before he disappeared again. She found herself reacting by second nature as she dropped to the ground and avoided having her head sliced off. Tucking and rolling off to the right, she felt her body and clothing dragging on the ground as she broke the tumble and slid to the west side of the gateway, with her knees still bent and one hand helping to direct her slide.

Her attacker simply gave her the unfading kitsune-like smile present on his face, both eyes shut as he slipped back into the closing gate. Meanwhile Tou was engaged in some quick swordplay combat, just before the blind captain used a kido attack to separate them.

"Hado#32: Okasen(Yellow Fire Flash)!" with no incantation backing the spell, it was not particularly powerful but the sheer amount of reiatsu put into it forced Tou away from the blind ex-captain who had moved back into the closing gateway. Kousou's father had guarded himself from the attack with his bare arms and while taking negligible damage from it, it was enough to stall as the doorway closed.

"Bye Bye." the almost jovial waving that accompanied Ichimaru Gin's response only served as a bitter reminder of their failed attempt to save their son.

Niyna fell to her knees and felt bitter tears of her anger sliding down her cheeks as she punched the floor. She did not want to cry...why was she losing control? Oh right, because she just failed to rescue her son. That bastard was holding him hostage for his curiosity, he was condemning him to die serving a traitor. How dare he...what she wanted to do to Aizen, she wished that she only had the power to do it. She had never noticed her husband's silent approach to her side as he took her into his arms and hugged her close. She turned in his arms and pressed her face to his shoulder and at least for the moment would allow herself to cry her frustrations out. Though it would not last for too long since the race was on to get back to Karakura Town, they had no time to lose!

Words that would not come to his lips were instead circulating in his mind, the time was close and chances were slimmer than ever. If either he or his wife made another mistake when trying to save their son, they might end up burying his remains...if there would be any left after his doing what he was in the present state: facing down the Gotei 13's best in an all-out war to decide the fate of Karakura Town.

_'Forsake your very soul...your plans, Aizen Sosuke! You'll pay for everything you've done to my family!' _the words echoed in his inner world and resonated with his will. He would be the one to punish Aizen should he get there in good time.

-In the Garaganta-

There was a solemn silence that loomed over Kousou after they had left his parents at Las Noches. Something bittersweet about not saying anything to them even though the first instinct was to run to his mother and hug her tightly, he wanted to tell her everything was okay and that he knew what he was doing, but he knew that it wasn't right. It was not fine for him to fight for the enemy, to serve an Espada that he was 'forced' to stay with for so long. It was not alright that he'd fallen so deeply into Stockholm that his own feelings made him feel lost and neurotic. Dare he say that he felt safe with the women that now surrounded him and that...he could go as far as to perish for their sakes if he could. So much clashed in his mind and was just more wrong than right.

"Kousou, clear your mind of any doubts as we go to our battlefield. Remember all you've gained and use your hollow powers proudly, you are not the same when you first came to me. You are truly one of my fraccion, I will rely on you to hold your own with the same earnest talent that you have shown in the past. Show your enemies no quarter." the words of his Espada commander helped to settle his feelings for now and help him calm down.

She was right since this was no place for him to be held back by doubts, if he were alive after the war then he could feel them all he wished and face them down then. As the Garaganta opened up, each Espada and their fraccion stood at the ready, overlooking the hometown of the shincy; the ill-fated Karakura town was going to be the site of one of the biggest battles within the history of both the living world and Soul Society. The gateway spawned multiple openings as each of the respective Espada emerged with their individual flocks trailing after them. The show was about to begin...Kou was frightened to a degree, to see the battle hardened faces of the Gotei 13 Captains was a thing that instilled fear in anyone who knew their reputations: Kousou was one such informed youth. Though he did not show it and quickly released a breath as he let his feelings settle back in the pit of his stomach.

At first they simply stood their grounds, watching the start of the situation as the Captain-Commander sealed Aizen, Gin, and Tousen within a large fortress of flames. As it seemed, the initial start of the conflict was well out of their hands. Harribel-sama stood idly to the side with Sun-Sun, Mila-Rose, and Apache all awaiting the time they would act. Kousou stood at Apache's side and took her hand within his own, as if for sheer reassurance since he was still shaken. The reiatsu levels of those fighting were not specifically spectacular, in terms of power they were no more or less stronger than he was though it varied amongst those who felt weaker. It was nothing that left him underestimating those who fought, quite the contrary: it was his option to note each of the shinigami lieutenants and their choice forms of combat and zanpakuto powers. Something that would come in handy depending upon whoever he ended up facing down.

"What are ya shaken for? You're stronger than any of those weaklings out there!" the annoyed tone of Apache broke through the shincy's thoughts, as she squeezed his hand and looked at him with cool eyes, she could see that he just needed reassurance.

Something that she made herself understand through the months with him, despite his skills and great experience in combat it did not change the fact that he was a teenage boy who'd been forced to fight for their side. He was still as capable as any of them and she refused to let him think anything less than that. Wanting to show affection but choosing not to, she settled for rubbing his hand lightly and looking ahead at the ongoing battle. Was this supposed to interest them? Watching Barragan's fraccion in all of their arrogance was annoying to her if at all. There was nothing here that was remotely catching her eyes.

As the period went on, one by one the fraccion of Barragan began to fall before the various talents of the shinigami, it was without a doubt something that Mila-Rose was not expecting. She could hardly believe that the pathetic levels of reiatsu coming off of these various subordinates of the Captains was enough to defeat a competent arrancar, though she scoffed at their losses. They obviously weren't competent and just full of the supreme arrogance that their Espada had in supreme abundance around him. While she kept her thoughts to herself, it was easy to see what little she felt towards the loss of life, even if technically they were comrades-in-arms; the only ones that she truly cared about were already at her back. If these weaklings could fall before their enemies then Harribel-sama and they would clear the field of their foes.

The unusual behavior of her fraccion had caught her attention slightly, though her eyes never deviated from the battle as it raged on, she allowed herself to consider a moment their antics. The minor murmuring that was cast amidst Sun-Sun and Mila-Rose over how Apache was closer than needed to be to Kousou, she would have laughed at it were the situation open to it. But this was war, she decided it was time to put an end to it very quickly,"Ladies there is a war going on, pay attention to your enemies." the words were stern and to the point. A directness that was only applied due to the severity of the moment.

While they argued both Ggio Vega and Nirgge Paduoc had engaged the number 2 Captain and her adjuctant, the time for them to act was now. Without more than a single gesture, the four of her fraccion moved into battle with great haste, acting as a unit they neared the number 10 Captain and his Lieutenant, engaging them was the shared focus of their attempts.

"Taichou, please go ahead and take on the Espada. I will handle the four of them alone." the tall shinigami fuku-taichou spoke with determination.

"Are you certain of this?" A single question from Hitsugaya to his subordinate as he eyed the four present, three of them were certainly arrancar, but the fourth was a shinigami who's level seemed to be somewhat weaker in appearance...though he could sense something off about it.

"I am sure, Taichou, hurry now." the words came as she placed her hand on the hilt of her zanpakuto, looking to her surrounding opponents.

As Hitsugaya quickly moved off with a step on shunpo, Kousou let him go and kept his focus right on the problem at hand: a wily and skillful opponent in Matsumoto Rangiku. This could be a problem if she figured out the lack of harmony in his comrades' that was often present whenever they argued. He needed a means of putting a stop to her quickly, at best to crush her resistance so they could coordinate to defeating the young prodigy that he knew was engaging Harribel-sama.

_'Provocation is her first move...chances are, she'll prod those she sees.'_

**'That leaves what for us kid? How're you gonna do this?'  
****  
**'Well I'll need both you and Kazashiryuu to give me a quick boost, though I'm not releasing first. I'm gonna leave her clueless of my skills until its too late.'

The briefing was over, he'd made his plan and was simply going to see if Kaza had the right idea, he was sure that Matsumoto would. To be honest it would be too easy to pass up, Apache was so hopeless in that regard. She couldn't help but show how easily affected she was by the slightest change.

"Now what was that about taking the four of us on? You are one suicidal heifer." the words came with a smirk that followed afterwards.

"Oh really? I was afraid that your ears were as bad as your horrid look and terrible face." Matsumoto responded without fail.

"What _was_ that!? You dare to insult me, you fat cow udders?!" Apache launched herself forward in that instant, though it was fortunate that she was grabbed by Mila-Rose, who held her by her collar firmly.

"She's just provoking you, don't listen to everything she says, moron." the reprimanding words were wisely spoken, but almost seemed futile.

"You should listen to the female gorilla, she's right you know." her choice of words flawlessly chosen, to her success it struck quickly and the amazon-like arrancar woman retorted harshly.

"Who the hell are you calling a gorilla, you fat butter face!?" her glare showed the loss of focus, she was absolutely livid.

"Honestly you two, giving the enemy what she wants, its so unseemly." the teasing words of the serpent princess only seemed to make things worse, amidst the madness Matsumoto was watching them and preparing to make her move.

As the trio argued amongst themselves, a loud clash of blades caught the girls' attention. As Kousou attacked Matsumoto during her preparation and was presently engaged in a trade of sword passes with her. Something that he excelled in, as above all else his sword technique was polished. It was what allowed him to cope with the lieutenant's swordplay, as the shincy ducked beneath a horizontal slash and countered with a rising adjacent swing. The parry was something Matsumoto blocked using the flat of her blade, why was the enemy so particularly skilled? She needed to get him with those girls all together somehow.

"Hado#33: Shakaho(Red Fire Cannon)!" the sudden release of a close-range kido sent Kousou back in his tracks, even though he'd blocked the technique with his zanpakuto, he was forced to retreat due to lack of visibility. She had managed to position him in line with the arrancar women, whether or not he was a shinigami of kinds had not mattered, he was an enemy to defeat and so she did not hold back.

"Unare (Growl), Haineko!" her pressure rose and left a pressure amidst the air while the radient ash flew at Kou first, she figured that herding him towards the three would work. Though to her surprise it wasn't necessary...

The ash was blown away by a swift rain of cero, shortly following her release had the three fraccion joined their comrade on the battlegrounds. Apache looking utterly furious at the cow uddered woman, how dare she attack Kousou! He was hers to protect and she'd be damned if she didn't look after him now. The sentiment was at least in part shared by Sun-Sun and backed by Mila-Rose, it was inexcusable for some shinigami dirt to rise above its position.

"You're going to pay for that, cow udders." was all that Apache said as she stepped towards the ash haze blasting around them, unafraid of what it might do to her.

The walk had caused her to become the target for Rangiku's sudden attack, as the instant that she'd touched the ash cloud, did the fuku-taichou swing her blade and slice Apache's arm several times. The slight damage made her jump back and look at her arm.

"Apache!" Mila-Rose's tone of concern went off at the result, which prompted an explanation.

"That is the true ability of Haineko, that entire ash storm is my blade, anything that touches it will be shredded." the words spoken with an assured feeling that it would work. As she drew her right hand outward, the ash began to whorl around the four of them, "Be careful...for nothing that goes into my ash's path will survive."

Kousou looked on in some irritation, did she honestly think that was special? The ability has its merits, but she'd given away her secret and now it was going to cost her. Once he was sure that his vision was back to normal again, his pressure began to rise on a sharp incline, responding to his vibrant reiatsu level the other fraccion began to gather a new array of cero to dispose of this helpless attack.

"How very naive of you." were the only words to be heard from ashen storm, just prior to a deadly but gorgeous array of red, purple, and dark pink cero blasts cleared away the storm with ease.

"Did you really think that would hold us?" the three arrancar women looked at Matsumoto skeptically, while Kousou spoke up next.

"The true battle begins now, Matsumoto Rangiku. Kaah!" drawing his zanpakuto, he charged at the orange haired fuku-taichou with a navy blue aura burning around his body.

"Haineko!" was the only word spoken as Matsumoto charged into battle against the four fraccion, the determination shining in her eyes showed that she would not fail her captain now.

The four fraccion quickly surrounded the mighty fuku-taichou and engaged her quickly, breaking the illusion of the mighty adjutant of the young taichou. As their leaders clashed, the group of them quickly making the battle difficult for Matsumoto's efforts. In just the methods of her attempt to contain the arrancar females and the shincy male who was giving her great trouble. Clashing against her attackers with her ashen blade, she found that she was capable of keeping them off somewhat. While Kousou was planning to leap upon the opening, though as he noticed the defeat of Nirgge Parduoc and decided it best to confront him. The fool Marechiyo Omaeda was going to be the target of his objectivity. Crushing the foolish fat fuku-taichou would prove to be crucial in his planned assault.

For the instant that Kou disappeared in shunpo, his mind went into a raging flurry of pained cries, what the hell was he truly doing? He was helping the enemy defeat the Gotei 13, while they were not exactly the best sense of order, they still represented it! He was moving now on the bulky lieutenant, his face grimacing with the new confusion that his mind fed him. The Stockholm lull was starting to wear off once he realized just _what_ he was doing, how much of an effect was he having on the battlefield? He was unsure of how best to call it, what would come of this clash?

'Nothing will come of this clash, I will not hurt him badly. He is going to be objective in helping me stall...I need a plan to handle Aizen.'

**'You're playing a dangerous game you know, kid. The moment you get caught off guard, you're going to be finished.'**

As if echoing words of measure, there was a single whisper by his ear that made him jump. He turned quickly and found himself face to face with the Onmitsukido Commander herself, someone that he hadn't counted on doing battle with at all. Giving off a cool face, he cleared his mind forcefully of all thoughts and did his best to keep his wits about him, with zanpakuto still drawn, he drew it back and allowed his left hand to close over the end of the blade's dull end.

"We'd heard rumors of a shinigami running with the enemy, beyond the traitors I hadn't guessed it to be true. But here you are, you treacherous dog...no that is too kind, but it does not matter your name, your reasons, or whatever will come. I am here to exterminate your petty existence. There will be no time to lament your betrayal." the cold words were followed by her drawing her zanpakuto and holding the short-blade reverse grip in front of her.

Kou didn't bother to respond as perhaps it was better to be thought of as a shinigami, she hadn't sensed his dark curve of energy, which he hid with a expert's grace. Ensuring that his shinigami reiatsu flared to life around him in a small navy veil surrounding his entire body. He did have a plan that was suitable to this unexpected turn of events. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise, the youth quickly tightened the aura around his body and wrapped a tight triple-fold of his flesh: something akin to scale mail carefully placed in order to protect vitals. He'd become ready just in time and found himself barely responding to the first pass that she gave, he'd never have a chance to turn and face her. All he felt was a sharp pain along his lower back that dragged straight up the edge of his spine. How lucky he was to have wrapped the reiatsu so tightly...

"Uhhph!" was the only sound that came from the shincy as his vision darkened...the difference between himself and a captain was this great? He could only imagine that he hadn't raised his level enough, there just wasn't enough time to do so: it had been just as she said.

Blood seemed to rise from him in ribbons, something of a convincing amount at least, the wound was truly there, just not fatal as the captain believed it to be. Kou didn't bother lowering his reiatsu levels, he let them fall and left his body to collapse from the air suddenly; as if some grim gift to the earth he fell wrapped in ribbons of crimson pouring from his back. His body fell into some nameless alleyway in the destroyed fake town, as if a befitting fate for someone worse than trash to fall. Was that how he thought of himself?

Never did he hear the cries of his name from the fraccion who had become attached to him, he had no notice of the expressionless face of the Onmitsukido who had been his 'executioner' during their brief encounter. All he could feel was some dull pain of his collapse into an alleyway that his body tumbled against. Slamming from wall to wall before finally settling into the alley's basin. His loss of consciousness was quick to follow suit, but his mental grasp on the reiatsu layers around him never gave way.

_'Honestly...Kousou, you leave so much in our hands.'_ the near scolding from Kazashiryuu amused Yami-Kou.

**'You have a death sentence or something...jeez, you could've put up more of a fight.'** this was something that his inner-hollow relished the thought of.

'Heh...it hurts, but at least...we're alive right?'

_'She seemed sure you were dead and you would've been if not for the shielding against your vitals.'  
__  
_'Well she is Onmitsukido, they assassinate not kill with honor. I lucked out really...'

**'Lucked out? You dumb bastard, you got lucky not lucked out. She nearly killed you!'**

_'Normally I do not agree with him, but had that third layer not been present, we would all be dead.'_

'_..._Fair point, but now we need a plan. We can't fight for him...this is wrong.'

_'Finally, you are making sense to me again. I missed that simple fact Kousou.'_

**'I sure as hell didn't, now he goes back to being annoying.'  
**

'I just can't do it Yami-san, I cannot allow Aizen and his evil to rule here, I have to oppose him.'

_'...'_

**'Pssh, so why get cut down?'  
**

'I never betrayed Harribel-sama's trust either, I went down believing in her and the others.'

_'Even though they kidnapped you and raped you over the duration?'_

'I know that...better than anyone else. It happened and I hate them for it. But what of later?'

**'Oh you mean the fact that part of you liked it and felt at home later? I love that part.'**

'...I am screwed up, simply put, yet I'm going to make it work. It all stems from Aizen's interest in me.'

_'In our power and its harmony...someone we two coexist with you, the Quincy you that exists between us.'_

'And so be it, all I have to blame for this is my existence. I'm not ashamed of who I am, but this...came because of it.'

**'Yeah, part of you relishes in it, you fear why you're attracted to it...the hollow-side.'**

'Yami**-**san, you have it half right. I was attracted to it, I simply will embrace it...I am not that child I was coming into this.'**  
**

_'...A life lesson you learned harshly, I apologize Kousou.'_

'But why, Kaza-san?'

_'A zanpakuto should be able to grant enough strength to protect her partner. Even with my Bankai...it seems we're incomplete. So in this regard I have failed you. Forgive me.'_

'...Silly Kaza-san, it was my fault for not using you properly, just as it was my fault for my own emotions. I am a fool, but I will step forward, I will live on my accord and for once try to have things work out. I need you both for that...'

**'Stupid kid, you know you just take my power, yet _you_ always have the nerve to ask. That pisses me off about you, what a lame partner you are.'**

_'Unlike this knave, I appreciate your request and naturally my power is at your disposal.' _

'Alright...its time to wake up, thanks...for holding my body together you two.'

**'Pssh...'**

_'Of course, Kou-kun.'  
_

Slowly his eyes opened slowly as he felt the numerous aches along his body's limbs, his knee flinched when he tried to move it, it didn't feel like it was in place. Grabbing his knee carefully, he pushed it back into its joint and flinched upon its realignment. He might want to take a little better care of himself should it ever come to this again.

"...?" Kou could smell smoke upon the air, as if some scorching explosion had hit the air, well it was still going on...whatever it was.

Resolving to see what it was, Kou grabbed his fallen zanpakuto and sheathed it before he began to scale the wall, not wishing to give away his position just yet. Through his sensory of the reiatsu levels remaining, a lot of the lieutenants were just alive, however he could not sense familiar reiatsu. He could tell what had happened, wasn't it obvious? They were defeated...no matter how strong they were, there was no true way to face off with the Gotei 13, the famous faces, the very experience. He did lament at the fact and moved off to find them. Even in death, he would at least bury them properly or gather them in the wing of all of this.

"...Unthinkable, the Captain-Commander stepped in on this?" the area where he remembered they were fighting held visible burn marks from a fire-type zanpakuto. This wasn't just any blaze. It was there that he found them, the three had been defeated with likely no effort at all.

"Mila-Rose...Sun-Sun...Apache..." he spoke their names gently and one by one, brought them to lay aside one another.

He could not sense anything from their bodies and left them to rest, paying them one final respect for what good they had done for him. The little good that had come from their odd bonds together, he was still uncertain of any of it and decided it best to ignore that. He wanted to remember them in good light, so finally turning from them he took to the air and allowed his reiatsu levels to burn to life. Wrapping several extra layers of reiryoku around his wound on his back, he hoped that he was not too late to finally go toe to toe with the man responsible for all of this.

-With Aizen-

Unamused by the battle that Harribel was having with the shinigami and vaizard pair, he'd decided that it was time to put an end to facade. "That's enough." the words marked the end of his patience and in a flash of speed, he disappeared using shunpo.

Appearing at her back, Aizen stood with a simple smile on his face, as if he were ready to praise Harribel's efforts so far. Even though something underlying could be seen within that gaze, what was present?

"Aizen-sama..?" the words of the Tres Espada came with some confusion, why had he appeared so suddenly?

For a moment there was nothing but cold silence between the two of them, just a smile that never left the shinigami's face as he drew his zanpakuto, and in a single instant slashed across the sole remaining Espada's chest. He left nothing to chance in the response, for what he knew was a fatal blow had been stricken and that was all that mattered.

"..W-Why...Aizen-sama..?" were some of the few words that she managed, watching him sheath his katana after coldly cutting her down.

"It's hard to believe that despite all of the effort I put into gathering you all...that I turned out to be so much stronger than all of you combined. Even if I forced you to sacrifice yourself, it would do nothing."

"..." the look on Harribel's face was in some surprise at the painful realization, had she been so blindly loyal not to see it?

"Your services are no longer required."

"...Aizen!" His callous words were met with a flicker of anger that filled the normally calm Espada, her fury was released in one last thrust of his Tiburon, which appeared to pierce his chest with some success.

"You're wasting your time." were all the words that the illusion of Aizen said to her, just in time for her to feel a sharp pain along the back of her shoulder as she turned to realize a blade had pierced her flesh.

"You will never raise your sword to me again." the matter-of-fact tone was followed with the finality of a tearing slash down adjacently along her back.

Feeling consciousness fade from her, the Espada fell lifelessly towards the ground below, where in a matter of moments a final crash resounded in the wake of her fall. While ignoring the stunned looks on the face of both Shinigami and Vaizard alike, the traitor announced the next stage was prepared: it was time that he had it out with all of those present.

"Well then shall we begin?"

As his wording attracted the attention of those Captains still standing and the battle-worn Vaizards, soon all eyes were resting upon his features.

"My Dear Gotei 13 and their Wannabe-Arrancar Friends."

Aizen's master provocation began and all minds remaining paid little attention to the fast approach of Kousou to the scene, as he approached his fallen leader amidst the ruins of the desolate building where she lay in wake of Aizen's calculated slashes.

-With Kousou-

Coming to the site of the Tres Espada and her fading reiatsu levels, the shincy made his way to her side and quickly went to work, he managed a calm look despite his urgency. He did not allow himself to speak another word, that could happen once he was sure that she remained alive. He took to the use of his near surgical talents for spiritual sewing, the knowledge that would match a means here and now, he quickly leaned his mind to work and drew the forces of spiritual thread along her wounded body, binding her hierro was very difficult since it was so thick, but he'd had no intention of stopping. One wound at a time that would require all of his efforts, he refined his spiritual needle and commanded it as his spirit weapon in place of his bow. The needle stitched quickly but with a surprising effect, it seemed he was unwilling to allow it measure of moving slow. The stitching would be the best effort, but it would at least work.

Once Kousou was sure that he'd stitched her gaping chest wound closed, he gently lifted Harribel's body and turned her onto her side and spying the absurdly deep slice in her back, he placed the needle's tip into her hierro and began the painstaking efforts of stitching her back closed. With the amount of blood loss that he'd witnessed present did not leave margin for error, at the very least the threading would remain as long as she didn't do anything too strenuous. Making the greater of his efforts closing the back of his friend, yes...she was a friend to him. One of the few who had not done anything to him.

"Harribel-san, I will take care of your wounds better once I do something...I must confront my very fears. The man responsible for it all, that man...I cannot believe how easily he torments those he controls." his words spoken to presently conscious Espada.

Once he was sure that he'd sewn her wounds closed and that they were stable, he took her into his arms and started carrying her to something of a better enclosure. He just didn't feel that it was proper to leave her out in the open, making some quick pace using shunpo he managed to find a mock house that was still standing. He would have to be thankful later and was quick instead on entering the house and moving to a bedroom where he lay Harribel on her back. His old leader, the one who's ideals he'd respected...a lot of things went into that. It seemed as if she was the only thing in the past few months that was not cruel to him in some way, as if there was no evil present with it, and in the moment he considered it, he considered it truth.

"Do not die needlessly, Kousou Yuushin, you were a valuable fraccion and a good friend during the term of your stay. I hope we shall meet again under better circumstances...you have saved my life, I will not forget what you've done. Life is precious and that must always be observed." the words were meaningful in nature, acknowledging his heroism, but considered his decision for battle against Aizen at his level: suicide.

"Thank you, Harribel-san...for your kind words, but I realize this chapter has passed in my life. I must face it to its end, even the darkness that was responsible for all of it. I will fight Aizen Sosuke, but I will not die needlessly." the last of his words almost cryptic.

As the shincy took off in a quick step of shunpo, once more taking to the blue sky while he headed to stand against the man responsible for so many deaths, nay...he was no man, he was simply a shade that posed as something greater. What had he missed while stitching up Harribel? He could feel the few reiatsu levels looming in the sky and found himself frowning more, he hadn't been gone that long...where was everyone? Almost certain that there should be more, he instead found a lot of spiritual pressures that were scattered around the base of the unmistakable presence of Aizen. He almost thought it improbable that so many could lose and yet...the result was as he felt.

He could feel a familiar pressure on the air and felt there was some hope: it was Ichigo! That was all that he'd needed, as he began to build pressure upon entering the zone of battle, the shincy stood proudly appearing from nowhere and finally at the side of his school friend. It felt good to see Ichigo and gave his heart a little hope, perhaps Ichigo was every bit as strong as he'd hoped, to fight with so many and to hold his own so well, what would it be. There was no word that he could put to the lasting impact, but he knew that he should need to not hold back; for once all would be forth. How much effort could he put out? Very soon that would be no doubt in his mind.

"Ah, the boy of interest, it seems you survived. I'd assumed you finished by the Onmitsukido, it seems she was kind." the words that calmly addressed the new intruder upon the site; he made no effort to show him more than a single glance.

"There was no kindness in her actions, I survived so that I would come and face you, Aizen Sosuke." the resolve in his speech was present and strong, he would stand his ground against the force before him.

He knew that Ichigo was full of question, the look in his eyes seemed that was aghast with question. But simply a small nod to his lunch companion, they were at least good friends in school. Why the hell was he here and how as a shinigami? There was no time to ask, only a means to show one's resolve, through which Aizen would be defeated. Kousou would join him and together they would defeat him, it was reason enough to bolster his soul.

"Bankai!" with a sudden crackle of raw power, Kousou's meager reiatsu began to raise drastically, as the swirl of navy reiatsu gained a line of gold, something along the center of its violent spin; while the energy built and the sky began to change from within. Clouds grew darker by the second and a change from light to darkness, an incoming tempest had set upon the field.

The pressure caused the air in the surround space to tremble violently, as if so suited to his very changes over the past few months. It had been some time since the youth slated more than practice use of his Bankai, but heavy training was what he'd undergone in order to maximize the skills of combat: every fiber of that training would have its place when facing an opponent greater than anyone he had ever faced. As the swirling flow of reiryoku tore through the streets below and clouds above began to fuse together, a line of thickening gold reiryoku forged a kind of halo around the massive thunderhead that had forged itself in wake of the gathering energy, while from upon the thunderhead a large Fu Dragon came into view, as if it had always been there; the 50 meter dragon let off a terrible roar and glared towards Aizen from its perch. While the sweeping whirlwind of reiatsu began to finally die down and reveal the large dragon tattooed haori that rested over Kousou's navy blue and white shihakusho, accompanied by the two large headed yari hand spears that rested in his hands.

"Daibaishin no Sansai Kazashiryuu (Grand jury of the Flood & Storm, Wind Dragon)."

The grand show of the transformation was over and within a matter of minutes, the newly enhanced power was creating a variable surge in the storm cell which was responding to the sudden increase in Kousou's pressure. It was an impressive improvement versus the first time the infantile Bankai had been used against Wonderweiss Margela when he was training. Aizen's interest in the youth before him was at least warranted for the period of time: as a lifetime spent training with his parents and the near-death situations he'd faced while in Hueco Mundo had marginally increased his strength, it still left him no match for the amused ex-captain.

Ichigo was visibly impressed by the fact that Kousou even knew what Bankai was, yet here he had one and was at the ready for battle. Perhaps it was possible for them to do this, he wasn't alone in this endeavor. Kousou wasn't quite near his level of power, but it hardly mattered since the effort might make all the difference. Why was Aizen looking at him so intently? The questions had no place, the orange-haired hero prepared himself to shatter this enemy as he had in the past.

Making the first move, Ichigo rushed towards Aizen with his hyper pace, unleashing a brief flurry of precise slashes. The response from Aizen was to block each as they came: a horizontal slash, an overhead slash, an angled lower thrust aimed for his hip, and and a second thrust aimed for his midsection. The crossing of their blades was a fitting distraction, he could see through the apparent tactics of the ryoka boy. He was trying to give Kousou an opening in which to attack: it was a sound move with the help he had at least.

After a few sloppy slashes aimed for Aizen, Kou found a good synchronization of openings and making use of times to strike, this knowledge aided him in searching for what mattered: Ichigo's paths of attack. The following motions were becoming smoother and soon the boy was making full use of his lightning speed and shunpo to throw more attacks out, while considering the proper time to make use of his Bankai's true force.

"Impressive ryoka boy, you are working rather well with that experiment." the taunts never seemed to cease.

"Shut your mouth and fight." Ichigo wasn't in the mood to hear anything the traitorous shinigami had to say.

The clashes of reiryoku sent shocking channels throughout the surrounding space, while Aizen casually met Kousou's yari-spears and swiped at him, sending him back in his tracks while Ichigo came from above and slashed at the top of his head. Which Aizen blocked with his katana with a fluid deflection despite Ichigo's great speed, while his right hand rose up and formed a wordless kido barrier that bent Kou's lightning bolt around the arch of his side. The mighty pair clashed with Aizen on numerous passes, trying to find an opening in the smoothly executed defense of the incredible strength of Aizen. It was almost unreal to believe that someone was so powerful that fighting two Bankai empowered beings meant very little to his overall strength.

"Ichigo, can you use Hollowfication?" the question was quiet, very meant to reach a point.

"How did you...-er...yes I can." Ichigo was puzzled to hear him mentioning it, what was this to mean?

"Then let's give it a try against Aizen...I am not nearly as strong as you have become, but I think if we hollowfy we might be able to break his ease. Maybe I can create an opening for you. Together we can definitely break through against him. Let's make the time count okay?" Kou's words were optimistic in the least, he knew that Aizen's strength was incalculable by what he'd seen.

The truth was that Kou knew he was no match for Aizen's might, but perhaps he could plan something out well enough and open Aizen to the prospect of Ichigo's hollowfied form gaining a clear shot was the whole plan. He was not sure what Ichigo would do, but he knew that as long as he supported his actions that it would bolster his spirit. This was something that Kousou had learned from interacting with Ichigo, his friends were great inspiration for spirit or the will to win. He was hoping to provide not only an active role, but also to play an efficient means for the stronger teen to realize his power and use it without fear. Even if that meant using himself as a tool, he was fine putting himself forward for the sake of Karakura Town.

"Let's do it, Kousou. It's time to put Aizen out of business." the words were full of determination, a growing confidence that Kou was happy to hear.

"Alright!" almost immediately after he'd said this, his reiatsu-levels drastically began to raise again.

Both citizens of Karakura Town, teenagers, vaizards in league with the same purpose: defeating Aizen definitively was their goal. They would take him down and put an end to this battle, there would be a happy ending before Aizen could try to ruin it. Kou donned his festive hollow mask, drawing the golden outlined white mask with blue highlights over the edge, and the burning navy reiryoku took a darker gold shade that outlined the evenly dark navy which created a dense pressure within the air around him. Something that Ichigo matched as he donned his mostly white mask which bore two inverted crimson lines that extended from top to the cheeks and ended at the base of the mask's edge. The space around him was a thickened black with crimson outlines. With the change in pressure, both were ready to engage their opponent.

Kou started before Aizen could comment, whipping his left hand spear in Aizen's general direction and sent a navy reiryoku slash wave towards him, before disappearing in a flash of shunpo with Ichigo following closely. There were no words of communication between the two, as Kou appeared at Aizen's left with Kazashiryuu ready to be whipped up; as if it were always natural for their sync; Ichigo to appear at his right with Zangetsu raised above his head. The two brought their respective partners towards Aizen while releasing a powerful channel of reiryoku towards him. The resulting blasts met in a violent explosion, while Aizen appearance at Ichigo's back momentarily surprised him; though his raised zanpakuto was used to slice a cero arrow in two. It was here that Ichigo bore witness to Kousou's surprising speed as he moved towards Aizen, firing both reishi arrows and navy blue/dark golden arrows in the direction of their foe. While this was an instant in time, Ichigo's stunned expression left his face while he swept his nodachi in a rising adjacent angle in hopes of cleaving the mad shinigami in two, even though it fell short of that action it forced him back.

"You two are certainly interesting, and though I must admit that you are starting to become a true nuisance, it is time to put an end to this game."

As if only a precursor to the efforts of the inevitable, Aizen appeared in front of Kousou and attempted to slice him in two. Something that Kou blocked with both yari hand spears, throwing the attack away from his body before responding with one of his enhanced attacks.

"Enrai(Distant Thunder)!" the initial attack had been used to counter one of Aizen's slashes aimed at his waist, while the second spear was aimed for Aizen's face and neck, it too was deflected by the simple vertical raising of the blade of Aizen, which resounded from the clash of blades and thunder that followed. Kazashiryuu snorted and stomped the cloud, picking up a crackle of thunder as Kousou expertly parried thrusts aimed for his neck and chest vitals, even as he missed a dual aimed swipe-slash for Aizen's body, he found that he only hit air. After the use of shunpo, Aizen brought his katana down to slice Kousou in two; something that was blocked by Ichigo's blade as he interrupted Aizen's assault.

"Banrai(Heavy Thunder)!" moments after he'd spoken the word, he spun around and darted at Aizen, who was thrown off by Ichigo's violent push against the traitor's zanpakuto. The way that he'd planned it was to pressure the almighty shinigami and open him up with his tactics, he hoped that Ichigo would catch wind of an opening fast; if it lasted he knew it wouldn't be for long. Even though the efforts were sound, it had not worked out the way Kou hoped. As Aizen turned and slashed the large dragon's claw at its center, wounding Kaza enough that she cried out a pained roar and drew her large claw back up. While Aizen freely met Ichigo and Kou halfway in their aimed slashes, that taunting smile of calmness ever present on his face.

"A very inconvenient Bankai, Kousou-kun. She is only as strong as you are and that means it won't be enough to reach me."

It was something that Kou waited for him to do, make a mistake of opening his mouth and while he'd done so, the shincy jumped into action and made use of his enhanced speed, and moving as fast as shunpo could take him to get at Aizen's back. His speed was anything but slow given that he moved at the pace of lightning and revealed it just now! The sudden appearance of him at the upstart's blind side with an attack already in motion, surely this would hit him wouldn't it? Not even he could dodge at this range with Ichigo still clashing with him.

"Hyakurai(Hundred Thunderclaps)!" it was something that he was quick to unleash, a violent flurry of high paced thrusts charged with lightning reishi and sound that was formed around the bladed edges. The crashes of thunder that were hitting were heavy resounding, but this was the clear sign for Ichigo to act! He'd opened Aizen up and at least now had him distracted. He looked to Ichigo with a look, it was encouraging the already activating attack. It made him feel accomplished to know that finally they'd had a clear shot at him.

'Here goes nothing...please work...please work!' even if a silent wish for something to work that was just to him, he hoped that it would work in his favor.

"Getsuga...Tenshou!" the pitch black reishi lined with a bloody crimson struck at the point blank range. Exploding violently between the two, Kazashiryuu let off a loud roar and appeared to be charging something. Acting of her own accord, despite the rapid spilling reishi that was a result of the two attacks meeting at that range; there was nothing but reishi spilling from the attack's center, as if a navy blue and black waterfall...the attack hadn't finished.

What had become of Aizen in all of this?

(End Chapter)

Here we have a new style cliffhanger that I wanted to try with all of you. I think you might appreciate my increased pace of battle at points and of course I do realize that I kind of skipped around, but the rest of the war wasn't as important to me since it wasn't around Kousou. It might seem a bit centered on him right now, but of course this is a crucial period. I hope this chapter was a surprise! I did have address his changes, will he still end up with the fraccion at the end? ohh...heh I think I'll let you all wonder. Worry not I should be writing that new chapter relatively soon.

Till then adieu,

-Quentix


	15. Chapter: The riptide crashes

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters, I too also not own some of translation speeches that I have put in here for Aizen, Isshin, and Ichigo. Those of which I used (with some modification) from 's episode translations in order to be more accurate with my story.

A/N: It appears this is my favorite fanfiction to write, all I can say is that its hard to resist another chapter, here we have another change in fate. Kousou resisting a fate by fighting a battle against someone by far stronger than he. For a minor note, the fraccion are not dead, Kousou simply failed to sense their lifeforce, and it is now that time to answer to the outcome of the fight. Before then a few minor reminders. Just making sure everyone knows that I don't own this, let's keep it all clean in memory! Moving on:

_'This speech belongs to_: Kazashiryuu- Kousou's female zanpakuto spirit

**'This speech belongs to**: Yami-Kou(Dark Kou/Houkou) his inner-hollow

'This speech belongs to: Kousou Yuushin

and all of the speech above is in his mind and cannot be heard by anyone else.

(End A/N)

Chapter XIV: The riptide crashes, a Shark Empress carries on

As the water-like reiatsu poured off of the combined strike of both Ichigo and Kousou eminated with its tremendous output, while Kousou was already prepared to pull back, it was only upon feeling a heavy pressure, which shook the very space around he and Ichigo, did he realize that Aizen was both alive and well. He also realized that the ex-captain of the 5th Squad of the Gotei 13 had a knack for toying with his targets, it was something that Kou had planned for. He needed to stay active in order to bolster Ichigo's confidence. He knew full well that he was no match for the leader of this insurrection, it was something that he'd always known, but this was a gambit and he needed it to pay off.

"Come out of hiding, Aizen. It's not like you to pretend that you are hurt." calling him out on the feigned defeat or at least lack of an ability to respond against.

As the pooling reiatsu was casually discarded as Aizen's reiatsu cleared it away, revealing that he had not so much as taken a single scratch from the previous combination attack. Ichigo was visibly stunned that their combined assault had not warranted even the slightest form of damage on the misaligned shinigami's form.

"You have a keen mind, Kou-kun. A shame that you lack any strength to match that potential." the words followed Aizen's attempt to move.

Had it not been for a sudden reign of fire that exploded around the nearby region, as if they were conjured by magic, massive flame pillars surrounded the battle site one by one. It wasn't until the Captain-Commander appeared before the three warriors and immediately looked to Aizen. Now the true battle had begun and while it wasn't a part of his plan, he could not help but be amazed...they were safe now, weren't they?

Despite this fact that Yamamoto himself had confronted Aizen and taken the battle from his and Ichigo's hands, something didn't feel right at all. Something screamed at his senses and he gripped his zanpakuto while he watched the confrontation, why was he still sweating with worry.

"So the head captain has finally come forth, but you're too late." Aizen's left hand sweeping outward to show the downed captains that he had so easily defeated during the battle's pinnacle.

"You're the only captain that is capable of fighting now and with your death, so marks the end of the Gotei 13. You should have stayed in hiding." the words of provocation spoken in his utter confidence, even as Genryuusai looked on with his expressionless mask.

"Do you think you're powerful enough to cut me, boy?"

"It's not a matter of thinking, I already have..."

"Silence!"

The brief exchange had ended with the Captain Commander's Ryuujin Jakka sweeping horizontally and leaving a fiery swathe as it sliced through the image of Aizen. The traitor had subsequently appeared behind him and as the eldest shinigami turned to meet his attacker, Aizen's blade thrust through his stomach.

The scene had left both Ichigo and Kousou in awe, was this the amazing power that Aizen held? That kind of force that was narrowly unbeatable? In all truth Kou couldn't believe that the Head of Squad 1 was so helpless before Aizen's maneuvers. Even if he could control the senses, the power difference...it couldn't be present.

"O-Old man..." Ichigo watched on in some horror as the sight of Aizen's zanpakuto through the head captain stirred some fear within his very core.

"Ichigo, snap out of it, it...it's not over yet." he reassured his friend verbally while watching intently; it couldn't be over so easily.

As Kou's observations were all too obviously clear, Genryuusai's hand clutched the center of Aizen's elbow joint and clutched it tightly; a wide grin breaking across his face. With something of a dialogue that began to break out between the traitor and Captain Commander, the flame pillars intensified and seem to burn with a forlorn fury that was moments from being released. It was something that Kou could barely comprehend, as the reiatsu from just one pillar was beyond anything he was capable of producing and he couldn't believe it.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, you and the other boy step back!" the elder shinigami's commanding tone snapped Kou out of his stupor and back to attention.

"Neither of you are members of the Gotei 13 Court Guard Squads. I cannot let you get dragged into this."

"Old man?!"

"Stand back this instant!"

The selfless sacrifice planned by the head captain made Kou feel a deep streak of guilt run through his body; he had been standing on that other side of that line before he'd risen against Aizen's forces. Surely he had not done enough, he felt the tinge dull as he gripped his blades; something else was bothering him. Even as he heard Aizen speaking, he forced it out of his ears and focused on the sound of something in motion; whatever was on the move had incredible speed. Though before the shincy could utter a word of warning, Ichigo's sharper senses and haste caught wind of it first.

"Old man, look out behind you!" the reaction had been instantaneous, the most feared of all shikai forms was sweeping rapidly towards its target with blinding speed and yet was caught with no effort. The fire commanding blade had lost all heat upon coming into contact with its target.

Ichigo was looking on as surprised as Kousou, though while the orange haired teen was unsure of who this was; Kou knewexactly who it was, but sensory alone told him that it was Wonderweiss. His reiatsu was this much greater once he released?

"You seem surprised, shall I explain to you why the flames have disappeared?"

Taking the margin of silence as a means for continuing, Aizen prattled on.

"Your Ryuujin Jakka is the most powerful zanpakuto. There is no mistaking it. If I were to face you head on, your attacking power would be greater than mine. But if I focus my efforts to a single purpose, I can even combat the powerful zanpakuto. His name is Wonderweiss, the only mod arrancar amongst us. His sole purpose is to seal away your Ryuujin Jakka."

Aizen's speech had ended with a simple directive as he gestured to Wonderweiss and spoke a few words. "Farewell, Yamamoto Genryuusai."

The words were planned to be the last, but no sooner had his back turned did a powerful blow break the calm air around Aizen as the building snapped in two and were destroyed by the tumbling arrancar's body. As the captain commander's body held stance with one single fist extended, Yamamoto's gaze fell upon Aizen's face with a beyond skeptical look present on his features.

"Do you think that if you sealed Ryuujin Jakka that you could kill me? How naive. I'm astounded by your how foolish you are. How do you think I remained Head Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads for over 1000 years? No shinigami born in the past 1000 years is stronger than I am. That's why."

As he finished speaking to his opposition, Genryuusai was upon his prey with his fist extended, fully prepared to shatter the poise present on his face. It was mere seconds before his fist connected that a rapid approaching figure broke the moment and in the dust, a tall figure was once again present.

During all of this madness, Kou had taken Ichigo aside and helped to bolster his focus. The Captain Commander may not have needed their help, but there was no way that either could stop.

"We have to...try and stop Aizen, Ichigo."

"How..? The Old Man wants us to stay out of it, we'll only get in his way." Ichigo's experiences had taught him to know that by fact alone, this degree of strength was truly awe inspiring.

"I'm fully aware of that, but I think...if Aizen should pull out of this, we'll need that instant to attack. Maybe...just maybe while he's open, we can shatter his confidence."

Detailing to Ichigo of a fairly straight forward plan, though Ichigo's speed was greater, he was to let Kou himself go in first to catch Aizen's full attention from the left, while with all that he could muster; he could strike from the right. He hoped to literally generate an 'x' styled cross slash on Aizen and do some serious damage to him; he didn't know with his slowly fading levels if he could really do much. But he had to stay strong and active for Ichigo's sake.

"Kousou, we've never been really close but...thank you, you really helped me keep my sense." the orange haired vaizard's appreciation very present upon his face.  
It left Kousou to smile genuinely for once in a long time.

"You're welcome, Ichigo. Now...let's try to take this bad man down, the instant the opportunity presents itself." he knew full well that he'd know when, Ichigo was very adept at acting without needing a single hint, his growth was even more amazing to see up close.

The situation unfolding before them went on without word, a massive explosion of Red fire appeared before them, it almost looked like a giant katana blade. What was going on? General Yamamoto was somewhere in there, Kou's mind had been drifting again.

"Let's move Ichigo!" he knew that his friend was already on the move, pushing into action, Kou took great care to gather as much energy as possible. Making sure to don his mask, the Bankai-enhanced speed of his was used to make the first move: while admittingly slower than Ichigo, his traveling pace made for a great show.

As Aizen emerged from the erupting pillar of energy, Kousou came down on him quickly; having timed his actions accordingly to Aizen's sudden movement. A resounding echo of thunder filled the region as the storm cloud crackled back to life. The back building energy that had been stored by Kaza during the rest period between the last clash he'd had with Aizen and the present, it was a surprising amount of force that he was sure he struck with. Kousou almost wanted to grin at the succession that Ichigo struck with; in a great splash of electricity, navy and gold reishi, with the dark black linked with red reishi exploding in a violent spread of force, forcing Kousou from the immediate blast zone.

While lacking the general ability to steady himself as he released his hollowfication and letting it crumble away; feeling the heaviness of his body, the shincy did realize he didn't have much time left for use of his Bankai. If not for Ichigo's quickness to catch his battle ally, then Kou would've crumpled right there on the spot.

"We got him him this time for sure, I felt contact." Ichigo sounded rather upbeat, almost hopeful that the combined attack would have finished the mad traitor's entire resistance effort.

"Our attacks landed, I know that I hit him with all I had back there, we had to have stricken a decisive blow." Kou's tone was carefully neutral, as even though he told the truth, he had calculated that Aizen's survival was still high. There was just no way that someone as strong as he could have been beaten so easily; even with the efforts he and Ichigo were giving. The shincy was certain of one thing only: Ichigo was bound to be the deciding factor.

He almost wanted to revel in the hopeful feeling of the battle, if it could truly be ended right now, he would have taken that opportune chance to see that it was clearly their victory. But his mind had him planning the next potential moves should Aizen have survived; he needed to relay them since he knew that Aizen would remove him as an obstacle from this fight. While it wasn't his battle, he'd be damned if he weren't going to go out swinging.

As the blast space finally cleared away, it was clear

"...That was your last chance to end this battle and you failed to do so." Aizen's words were sinking to home with Kou while he gripped his zanpakuto while he drew his fingertips back while he drew a light string back, having formed his metallic bow with immense concentration. Forcing his quincy bow to awaken without any warning.

It was at this time that Ichigo looked at him and spied his wound, with some encouragement by the rather remarkable damage on his body; he chided Aizen's attempt to be coy.

"You're pretty badly hurt, I think its a great start to what we'll finish." seeming confident, Ichigo gripped Zangetsu with a growing determination. If this played out carefully he and Kousou would be able to stop the madman before he would complete his plan.

"Pretty badly hurt? I see you fail to understand what I am referring to." Aizen casually gestured to his wound, which by now had begun to heal up, the visual of his clothing being recreated on the spot did disturb Ichigo quite a bit.

The orange haired youth couldn't believe what it was he was bearing witness to, just what was it that he was doing? Thinking aloud, Ichigo questioned just what his suspicion was aloud, "...High-Speed Regeneration?"

Appearing astounded by Ichigo's theory, he made it clear by calmly stating it away. "This isn't High-Speed Regeneration."

Seeing the unbelieving look on Ichigo's face, he persisted in his brief explanation. "Do you think that I'd would undergo Hollowfication? This is just its compulsion to protect its master."

"What do you mean?"

Spying the torn open clothing of the Mastermind behind the war, Ichigo's eyes even through Hollowfication grew wider. He couldn't believe what it was that he was witnessing. "That's the..."

"It is the Hougyoku."

While noting Ichigo's visually disturbed gaze, he reached his fingers over to the slowly healing wound, which surprisingly still hadn't closed; even though there was no bleeding. Aizen could feel traces of Ichigo's reiatsu and seemed to be sampling it's feelings.

"So this is your reiatsu? How Wonderful. You've matured splendidly. Just the way I wanted you to." Giving the youth a stare, he made it clear that he'd meant exactly what he said.

"What?!"

Immediately reacting to the claim, Ichigo's immediate outrage became very clear. Something that Kou knew could not happen.

"Just after you met Kuchiki Rukia and following your battle with Ishida Uryuu, you awakened your powers as a Shinigami."

The look across Ichigo's face was still taken aback, as some disbelief began to sink into his mind it was immediately countermanded by Kou's sudden interruption.

"Your words are empty as their meaning, Aizen Sosuke. How Ichigo came to be is something that only he truly knows, even if this were your doing. You do not dictate his future or what his true power has come to mean." Kou made the point simple: there was no point in his explanations.

Ignoring Kousou completely, Aizen finished his grandstanding off with one last tidbit, "Kurosaki Ichigo, all of the battles you fought were a part of my plan."

Ichigo was unable to put forth a belief in what he was being told, he felt his mind clenching in tightness as he grit his teeth; everything that he'd done up to this point was a part of this guy's plans? Yeah right! He couldn't believe that for one second, this guy planned his entire life and struggles out a few strained words as his mask deteriorated.

"My Battles...were all apart of your plan?!"

"What...do you mean by that?"

A small smile from Aizen and silence is Ichigo's response, sending him into a rather angry fit.

"I'm asking you what do you mean by that!"

Another calm look from the mastermind of all of this destruction was all Ichigo received before he raised his index finger and finally spoke up.

"Your voice...Don't raise your voice, Kurosaki Ichigo. There's nothing to be surprised about. I simply believed...that you would be a great research subject, So I assisted your development. That's all I'm saying."

Ichigo's look had gone from befuddled to slowly tensing as Aizen continued his explanation.

"You never thought it was strange? You had never a Hollow before in your life before you met Kuchiki Rukia, but shortly after doing so, you were attacked by one. How a Menos Grande was drawn in by the bait that Quincies use to attract and exterminate minor Hollows? You never once thought it was strange?"

Kou put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, trying to rouse him from his stunned appearance, even though at first it had little effect on the teen as he listened to the events of his life being unfolded in such a manner and being made out to be doctored and controlled experimentation the entire time.

"Did you think you met by fate?"

"Hold on..."

"Did you think that attack happened by chance?"

"Wait."

"Did you think that your victories were the result of your hard work?"

Ichigo suddenly stepped towards Aizen and within the blink of an eye attacked him, his jet black zanpakuto a dark blur across the air as he swept it towards Aizen. Suddenly hitting a barrier, before a second sweep had the megalomaniac catching Tensa Zangetsu's blade with little effort.

"Don't disappoint me. Your power should be much greater than this. Don't you believe what I said?"

"Of course not."

"But it's the truth."

"You're lying!"

"All my battles were your doing?! You planned all of it?! Who'd believe that?! You said before that you'd discovered Rukia after she'd gone missing to the World of the Living! And yet you say that you knew about me since the time I met her?! That doesn't make any sense!"

"What an interesting thing to say. You just called me a liar and said that you'd never believe me. You claim that I am lying right now...So why do you think I was telling the truth back then? I suppose it cannot be helped. I sympathize with you. This World was never about truth or lies. There are only hard facts. Despite that, everyone who exists in this world mistakenly believe that only facts that are favorable to them are truths. They know no other way to live."

Ichigo seemed to be falling more into despair.

"Ichigo, get a hold of yourself! Don't listen to his chatter!" despite the close proximity to Aizen, he would not leave his friend sinking further and further into loss of confidence.

"Chatter you say? How presumably ignorant of you, Kousou-kun. Someone with your sharpness should know that I would not waste time with idle banter of any sort."

Kou kept his cool and offered him no more verbal ammo by which to go off on him about. He had to keep his head, that was going to be the only thing that kept his heart beating and life continuing on.

"But for the powerless who make up most of the world, facts that act against them are the only truths.

Ichigo looked down with his eyes seemingly out of focus.

"Do you know all of the facts? Who stationed Kuchiki Rukia in the World of the Living? Who gave Abarai Renji the equipment with the ability to detect Spiritual Pressure? Who added information on your whereabouts in the report sent to the Lieutenants? Was I really unable to figure out where the Hougyoku was for over a hundred years?"

"There is only one thing I want to ask you. You said that you believed that I would be a great research subject. Why? What did you base that belief on? If you saw me when I met Rukia...Tell me. When did you believe that?!"

"Since the beginning."

"Quit talking nonsense." Ichigo's grip on Zangetsu grew stronger with some resolve returning to his body.

"Don't you understand? I'm telling you it was from the beginning. I knew about you since you were born."

"What?!"

"You were special from the moment you were born. That's because you're a human and..."

As Aizen was about to say it, a katana swiftly came down towards his head, an act that he simply avoided by drawing back and retreating once more to dodge a second swing.

"You talk too much...Aizen."

Ichigo had retreated into his mind upon seeing just who it was in front of him, leaving the shincy, Kousou in deep surprise, Ichigo's father had arrived on the scene immediately.

"D-Dad?" Ichigo asked trying to get an answer.

He received none as Isshin approached him.

"Hey, say something."

Still no answer was neared the two teens, Kou had a bad feeling about the approach, especially when Isshin had stopped in front of Ichigo.

"Dad-" Ichigo suddenly found his words cut short by a brutal headbutt from his father.

"Ow!" sliding backwards along the surface of the rooftop, Ichigo slid to the edge of the roof and grabbed a hold.

"Kurosaki-san? Gugh!" with no chance to speak more, Kou found himself in a rough headlock, as he was forced to stumble after Isshin in an attempt to follow his pace.

"That was close!" Ichigo had latched onto the roof and looked up at his father, with just enough time to get kicked in his chest.

"You bastard!" As Ichigo fell, Isshin looked back at Aizen and grunted before taking off with both teens in hand.

To Aizen's amusement, he noted that Isshin was keeping his distance.

-In the distance, having retreated from Aizen-

As Isshin masked both his and the boys' reiatsu signatures, he found a quiet place to rest and kept Ichigo pinned to the ground with his foot to his stomach and hand over his face.

"I know you have things to ask, but they can wait, you need to stay quiet and-uph!" Isshin's words were cut short as Ichigo's foot slammed into his face.

Once free, Ichigo gasped in large amounts of air while holding his face a moment, it had been pressed into the ground pretty forcefully.

"I know I have to be quiet, I was trying to tell you I couldn't breathe."

"Oh, sorry." Isshin offered the apology while paying his son a calm look, before continuing to explain a few things. Kousou just remaining clearly quiet, this was not his place to speak out.

"No matter how long you stare, you're not imagining things."

"So it seems."

"I'll talk about it later. There are probably tons of things you want to ask me, but all of it-"

"No there's not. There isn't anything I want to ask you. you probably had your reasons for not telling me about it. That's your problem. I don't know how to ask you about that. I don't know a good way of asking you about that without trampling on your feelings. So I'll wait. Until you feel like telling me. Until you feel the time is right. Until then, you don't need to tell me."

"It seems you've learned some tact."

"I picked it up from someone else. Someone told me something similar. It helped make me feel a lot better. Thanks for hitting me, Dad. I feel like...I've come home."

Isshin looked on in some surprise at that mention, but only grinned.

"Ichigo, I didn't hit you, I headbutted you."

"Does it really matter? You ruined a good mood."

While Kou watched the two in silence, he wondered a moment as to what he could do? He had to think fast, his bankai was holding together, he could sense Kaza was backbuilding in silence, but fortunately nothing had happened to her. She was not stricken down, it meant that Aizen was waiting for something...likely for them to make a move.

-Back on the battle site with Aizen-

"He's hidden his spiritual pressure. He placed a pretty powerful barrier. You've been watching for quite a long time, Gin."

"I haven't just been watching. I just couldn't find an opportunity or a need to help you."

"I see."

It had been only a few moments before Ichigo had come down upon Ichimaru Gin, Tensa Zangestsu coming down with immense force, only for the ex-captain of the third squad to block it with some effort visible upon his face. During this attack, the section of building upon which Aizen was standing upon had been sliced and without warning began to tumble down towards his opponent: Kurosaki Isshin, took to air with katana raised, meeting the traitorous ex-captain in close-range combat. The true battles were beginning.

"Two against one? How unfair you two are." the teasing words of Ichimaru Gin were attempting to rouse conversation.

"No talking, its time to end this." Kousou considered what to do about this, his boast was just that, empty.

Kou was the first to assail him, with a sweep of his hand spear, easily blocked the attack aimed for his face. The adept slashes aimed for the ex-3rd Captain's face, torso, and feet were hitting nothing but air. A practiced swivel in the way of a serpent seemed to serve him well for avoiding any damage. Despite the earnest of the shincy's attacks, he found his weapons becoming heavier by the second.

It was something that Gin easily noticed and catching the weakness in the former subordinate's attack speed, the wily fox batted the weak defense of both raised hand spears down and thrust his blade into Kousou's shoulder roughly before kicking him towards the rubble covered ground; using his experienced skill to evade Ichigo's angry slash with ease.

"Too slow, Kou-san, far too weak to be usin' that Bankai of yours anymore." Gin taunted the shincy, obviously about the fact that he was unable to keep up with him.

It did not stop Kousou from rising, he had one last tactic to use before he'd let it up. The final attack that he was hoping to use on Aizen would have to be used here. He simply could not handle the full pose of such gathered reishi. He knew that Kazashiryuu was ready and he was about ready to unleash this final attack upon Gin.

"Get back Ichigo, this one won't be as slow as I've been. Even you'll feel this one, Ichimaru-san." still using the honorific despite them being foes, while Kou's tone did not show any malice, his attack's pressure suddenly being felt as he called out the final motion.

"Goshin no Boufuu Rakurai(Misjudgment of the Storm Thunderbolt)!" as soon as the attack was spoken, it had been too late for Gin to react: it had been at the speed of electricity.

From the massive thunderhead cloud a thick navy bolt of lightning was released and with its deadly speed slammed into its target with great precision. All that the orange-haired shinigami witnessed at this point was the visual of a massive bolt of energy striking its target with extreme prejudice. It was enough force to cause a violent shudder throughout the nearby area, leaving an immense explosion within its wake.

As soon as it had come, the bankai fell away as Kousou drooped to his knees, holding his wounded shoulder while looking at the sight of the smoke hopeful. "T-That...had to have...gotten him." Kou was unsure of the result.

Ichigo's motions had been but a blur to Kousou and as it was, suddenly he was blocking an overhead slash aimed for the shincy's neck, a slightly damaged Gin had been seen. Though Kamishini No Yari had not found its target, it was not enough to stop the fox-grinning captain from kicking the base of Kousou's chin hard; sending him back to the floor of the rooftop he'd been kneeling on. With his eyes unfocused and blurry as pain radiated through his face, neck, and shoulders, the shincy did manage to roll over to his stomach and pushed up with his hands; managing to rise back to one knee.

The attack hadn't so much as scratched Ichimaru Gin at all, but it had left him with some minor damage that might slow him down. This was a shred of hope that was remaining at the center of his actions. With his own acceptance of his situation in Hueco Mundo, he felt that he had become a true traitor and only the defeat of the traitors to Soul Society could bring him some vindication of any kind. There was one more plan that lurked within the depths of his mind, something that was desperate and lacked any of his usual finesse of thinking. He was running out of time and let his mind slip into a lower state of mind...one of fear.

"One more...just one more..." Kou's determination had been the only thing pushing him, he had failed to have the might to stop even the subordinate of Aizen with the help of another.

_'Kousou...we don't have a lot of power left, my last attack had drained almost all that we had.'_

**'For once Kousou, stay down a minute, maybe we can recover our-'**  
'One more...just give the power...we can trap that guy...and have something left.'

Kousou rose to his knees and held his left hand out, forging his crystalline bow based upon sheer well, even though its very foundation was crumbling in hand. He would keep it together just long enough to release this shot. It became clear that he had no plans to release his final plan, not until he focused on the spell. There were no doubts in his mind as he began to verbally speak the chant to the binding spell.

_"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel."_

While the energy had begun to surge into a small stream of yellow light, he focused it and folded it over carefully; threading it into the shape of a refined arrow show. It was then he decided the use of a second spell while chanting, finding it might be best...to mix the spell up in order to slow Ichimaru Gin that much more.

_"With light, divide this into six!"_

"Conjoined Kido Arrow#61-63 Sajo Rikujokoro Sabaku."

The arrow was crackling with the tension of the two spells being forced together, these two bakudo were not meant to be forced into one form and the shincy knew it. Though that hardly mattered to him in mind, instead he released the arrow the instant he felt it was right. At the very least he was sure that Gin would not see it coming while on the attack, the thin arrow was a thing of incredible pace upon its release. The moment that Kou had launched it did his crystalline bow crumble to pieces, while the proud action was all to support Ichigo, he had no idea what his school friend was thinking at the moment consciousness began to leave him.

'Heh...Ichigo's gonna be so upset, I can't believe I gave in...'

The words made little sense now as the blackness overtook his vision and soon clouded over any thoughts he might have wished to consider. For all that he'd done, it all seemed to be so very little in the end, he was not sure if he'd done anything right except for perhaps surviving. At the very least he was certain that he was still alive, even should that not be the case in the end game of it; for once he felt no regrets towards his actions. Even in a life that seemed to be so prematurely short.

-Some hours later-

Was this what remained of the battle site between the Gotei 13 and Aizen's forces? The scene was a mash of destroyed buildings, all left in rubble due to the conflicting powers that had met above their faux surroundings. A crumbling replica of Karakura Town was all that remain in the wake of its own destruction, the forces that fought here were some of the legendary figures of Soul Society's elite had faced off with their tragic foes, it was clear that this was nothing that ended easily with war as its herald. The bodies that littered the ground were a pure sign of that, headless demons that bore empty wills and cried out silently for a revenge their bodies could never claim.

It would only be that through some aid from the 12th Division Captain that the two made it to the fake Karakura Town, what had become of their son? This was the first thought on both parents minds, focusing on their son's reiatsu signature, it was Niyna who lead the search for their only son. Diligently focused on her efforts to find even a simple trace of their child's reishi amidst the trashed buildings and remaining rubble, it was then on the air she felt a familiar trace of the dual reiatsu, it was kept very low and yet she still faintly sensed traces of it lingering in the area of destroyed buildings.

"Tou, I think Kousou-chan was here...we have to find him, we must hurry and get him out of here." it was by this long duration of time away from her son that the proud Quincy mother could no longer keep restrained. After nearly saving him in Hueco Mundo only to fall shy of his safety, she knew only the anxiousness riding her this very minute. She had to hold her son once again.

"Someone else is here...your senses are right on, but I'm sure of it now, one of the Espada was by here. The feeling is all too familiar to me." there were questions looming in the Vaizard's mind, had one of the arrancars come seeking revenge on him? He was sure enough that Kou had been on this demolished building some time ago.

Niyna just frowned and then continued to track the reiatsu of her son, finding that it had become intertwined with the trail of this arrancar. With the quincy honed in on her only child's weak reiatsu and prepared herself for the worst. Certainly she would not allow her child to die when she was so close to embracing him once again. There was just this time to break between the two, she would depend upon her husband to have straight vision for she could not anymore. Time had broken her down and her mind was not at peace, she would destroy any threats that dared to approach her son.

Tou took point and prepared himself to subdue his wife, should she be unable to control her reaction to whoever it was that had their son, he would bind her with kido. It was something that he'd never allowed himself to do in the past: raising a hand to his bride was something that he swore never to do and yet here was the time to break such a vow. There was a sudden veil of thickness that was unlike anything he'd felt prior, it was something that the vaizard wasn't quite able to describe just what it was that he was feeling once they'd hit this wall of pressure. It was as if something was trying to veil something from he and Niyna.

It had been exactly what Kou's parents had imagined it was, one of the Espada had indeed come to Kou's side, though it was to recover him from the battlefield and to quietly retreat into the false cityscape and back to the home she had been brought to rest in. Harribel had by now recovered enough of her energy to move around and given her levels were miniscule, she did not stress anything and took great care when moving around. Utilizing her past experience in order to maneuver around almost undetectable, carrying Kousou's unconscious form was something very easy for her, given his lightweight frame.

"You survived as you promised Kousou, I will do the rest." the words of the Tercera Espada as she carried his unconscious form to the temporary place of rest that the shincy had left her earlier, she was prepared to take measures of ensuring his safety, despite her weakened condition.  
She'd had intentions of caring for him as she already had her own fraccion, who were laid out along the main room's floor on a blanket she'd found suitable for them to rest on. It was all that was necessary for them right now, safety so that they could recover under her watchful eye. However as she caught sense of the pulsating reiatsu behind her that was substantially higher than any human she'd felt in the past, the Espada found herself facing a woman, a female Quincy who'd held her metallic bow aimed for her face. Without a doubt the piercing eyes bore an uncanny resemblance to her fraccion. However, before she could say a word she heard the woman's distraught voice relay a threat.

"Lay my son down carefully, arrancar, I am in no mood for anything else. I will not ask why you have him, but I recognize that you are protecting him. It's the _only_ reason why I haven't released this arrow into your face." Niyna's voice was strained, wary, over protective of her only child.

As Harribel knew she was in no shape to compete with this woman or the immense pressure from the shinigami at her back, she complied and set Kousou to the ground gently. Rising once she'd completed this measure, she backed up several paces and stopped. Saying no words, she left the young man in the care of the two she could identify as his parents.

"Kousou...my gods, what has happened to you?" Niyna had dropped her bow the instant Kou was on the ground, she took her unconscious child into her arms and hugged his body firmly. Tears falling from her eyes as she felt his warm skin, could smell his slightly dusty hair, still freshly washed from likely earlier in the day. She could see the calm appearance on his face and knew that he had been safe.

While Tou watched over his wife and child, he smiled lightly at the reunion briefly before turning his attention to the arrancar present. She'd risked her life to save him for whatever reason...the attire she wore was of her resurreccion, he could feel her power and despite her ragged condition she was still fairly powerful; of this he had no doubt.

"I know not why you saved our child, Espada. But I will do what is proper and offer my gratitude, as I presume you are the one who kept him alive while he was in Hueco Mundo. I'll not ask your connection to my son, let's leave it at this, shall we?" he was not in any mood to see his wife descend into violence, wanting to know all that happened their son.

"Very well, I bid you farewell then, Vaizard." she knew what he was now that she'd had more time to sense his dual reiatsu properly. This was truly something she counted her blessing over, she had no way of defending herself or her fraccion against two opponents of this level in her current condition.

With no further words to pass between them, the lone remaining Espada hid her reiatsu and disappeared in a burst of sonido. Leaving the two parents to worry over their child briefly, she was at least glad that Kousou would be taken care of. It was honestly a rather strange ending for their association, at the very least it ended peacefully and she could ask for no less than that. As the day soon faded, Kousou's parents had taken their son to the safety of Soul Society's outskirts and awaited the completion of the battle. Placing their hopes on Kurosaki Isshin and his son Ichigo, things became very clear that at the battle end: Kurosaki Ichigo had properly ended the battle with his own two hands. Defeating Aizen was a monumental victory even though it came at a great cost...something that Yuushin Kousou would not find out until he awakened some four days later.

-96 Hours Later-

With an aching body that was slowly coming under control, Kousou had to do little more than to sigh and realize the warmth that he was wrapped in was a combination of another body next to him and a blanket that had curled over him. He was just glad to see that he was safe...it felt almost weird really since he knew just who it was next to him. He needed no word to describe what kind of feelings that coursed through his body, as the first words that broke from his lips,"Mother..."

"Yuushin Kousou, there is a lot of things I want to ask you, I'd want to know your entire trip. What drove you during your period of capture? Why you didn't jump into my arms the instant you saw me...but I know that the last two questions are a moot point. You survived because you had to, you didn't come to my arms because strategically speaking: even with myself, you, and your father present...we never would have left alive. I just have so many things that I want to say about the experience, missing you, fear for your life. Too many negative things that had turned me into a trembling mess, I have so often said to you in your training as a Quincy: Maintain your composure, control your emotional outbursts. And yet I could barely do this, feeling something truly close to despair when not holding you, son. So I'll stay my questions from you for a time, you deserve just my love, my attention, and my care for the next few days; fortunately for you I've already given reason why you were away for the past few months. Taking special lessons from your grandfather in the field in Germany for a time. But no more of that...welcome home Kou."

The words were a lot to take in, his mother had gone off on the number of things bothering her, revealing so much to her son in the process of her weakness. He knew that she was a proud woman, not a lot moved her; though family took priority above all else. She would drop all that she had to see her son came home and she took charge. Kousou was very proud of his mother's confessions, since they were so often personal that she would not share any of her darker feelings or moments of dread. His father was the opposite of this very action and completely open with him on all things.

Something that he knew he could rely on at least, but from his mother it was nothing ever expected. While he felt his mother's warm embrace once again, Kou just leaned his face into her shoulder and said nothing, there was no reason for him to do anything shy of just offer his love in return; wrapping both arms around her mid-center the two shared the embrace. For once in a truly long time, Kousou seemed to feel less like a teenager and more like a young boy once again. The wrenching on his heart and mind of the turmoil that he'd survived was beyond reproach, he had no words to describe what it was like to succumb to stockholm syndrome the way that he had. Being taken advantage of and embracing that within itself, the forming of his twisted and yet oddly...dare he say, near loving relationships with three different arrancar women. It was a tainted realm that he had visited while no longer within the safety of a world of light. That eternal moon did forever fill his mind and had formed that dark edge that Yami-Kou had been trying to bring to him for all of the years that had come to pass had been like nothing such as living in the darkness. To feel his hollow powers relish in the homeland they'd held, to feel the homecoming and to experience a brutality unlike any other that he had. Perhaps it was fate's own twisted way of punishing him for a sheltered existence and throwing him to the proverbial wolves.

He had been there and lived as beast amongst the endless dunes of a place that still felt like a home for him, the Dark Raven amidst the dunes. Like in so many of his dreams had he shared with Yami-Kou, viewing the eyes of the ever fierce Daikaras beyond the human medium formed by the two of them; what would it be like to truly exist as one of them? This question lingered somewhere within his mind and yet Kousou had come very close to learning that answer during his forced stay in the Las Noches Palace. He'd become fierce and knew his pride as a Vaizard, though for a darker purported sensation or something that he was just feigning blindness to in order to avoid a brazen truth about himself? Yet another question that he seemed to avoid all together.

"Kousou, you and I will have a chat a few days from now. I just want to know some of your experience, as let's face it my son, you were forced to grow in a situation that you've never so much as faced before." Tou didn't offer more than a polite pat on his son's head while looking his son over. The young man had been through a kind of hell, a torment on multiple levels that would haunt him forever. But he could handle it and would, Kousou was simply that adaptable. He was a good son, a strong fighter who didn't quit and a mind as sharp as his mother.

Tou left a little after that, though it was clear that something that on his mind, he paid it no mind. It was life that had to go on now and it would be up to Kou if he were ever to look back and allow such things to trouble him if at all. Looking in the mirror for the young man was hard enough to do, as a father watching his child, all he could do was offer support. Though as well as he knew his son, there was a lot that the boy had done to become a man, at least surviving had made him into an adult; even it was against his wishes.

It was enough that a father could leave his son free to contemplate within the company of a worry sick mother who could not let her child go yet, could she let him grow up so freely? It was something that became a measure of concern for her, she knew best to trust her child and not to overreact, which normally applied. But what had happened to her son was anything but that and the three of the small family unit knew that. An awkward crossroads had come to their passage and as a unit there were only so many choices to make. A mother who could not allow her son to enjoy life was simply a clingy parent, this was something that was just not true for Niyna. It was something that she earned, a right to hold her child and just realize that he was alive and well.

Where was Kousou in all of this was the true question...he had been barely active, getting up and training with his parents; though still there was little for the youth to have remained as. He seemed but a shell of his former self, nothing that had managed to live up to the expectations that he'd hoped the world to be. He was in the garden of his mind in deep discussion with his partner and dark self, a heavy discussion that only seemed to grow with intensity at the harsh reality that had overcome him.

**'Wow...you really were hurt by this weren't you kid?'****  
**'Am I really that transparent?'

_'There is no need to make jokes, we all know your turmoil Kousou.'_  
'I don't mean to sound callous, but can you truly? I you are my strength...my heart, my power, and yet...'

**'We are still not on the same page all the time, yeah yeah, don't you get it Kousou?'**

_'We feel...the exact same way.'  
_  
'I...I see, forgive me...'

**'Bah! Look here, I can understand the feelings you have right now. The very things that I see we need more of around here to sharpen you up.'**

_'I am inclined to disagree with you.'  
_

**'You would, since you want his well being and to protect him all the time.'**

_'As do you in your own bizarre way.'  
_

**'Heh...you sly pain in the ass...'**

'I can truly be appreciative that even...the darker side of my soul can feel sympathy for my weakness.'

**'Don't you dare start moping again! You honestly think you betrayed yourself? You did what you had to survive, unless you seem to have missed the entirety of this picture?'**

'Did I really? or did I give away something more, I allowed myself to trudge on the dark side and forge bonds that I can never break. What am I to do with this...left over feeling? It's empty, I'm devoid since I became a husk while in Hueco Mundo.'

_'Stop yourself short Kousou, you know better than that. Perhaps you did forge something you did not want and what of it? It is never to be again, you are not going to head back there ever...it was but a terrible time in life. We are done, once and for all we are finished. It's time to let go and pick up the pieces of your will.'_

**'Yeah, before I take over this damned body, how would you think your mom and our pop would feel about that?'  
**

'...Forgive me you two.'

The last words before Kousou had done as he had so many other times before, moving to Kazashiryuu, he embraced the taller dragon-humanoid and gave her a tight squeeze. Burying his face in her kimono covered shoulder while he let a few silent tears fall, he had lost so much it seemed and yet he could not allow himself to drop off the face of the world. However, the stark difference was the fact that Yami-Kou had embraced the two of them without a word and as Kou's mind had come to some peace finally, it became more clear than not that he would truly be able to be move on.

It was just enough for him to have come to a motion as it seemed pass, as if this were the sudden wake of a violent storm. Much like his zanpakuto, his life had been a wild vortex and recently had just stopped and left him in shambles. There was very little that he was certain could follow the time of passage. The next few weeks would be difficult, but he was sure of one thing: that was that he had his parents and friends. It might take a bit of time and effort, but he could be sure that it might well work. It had no choice but to be the effective outcome. It was an immense wail of effort on his part, striking like the roar of a storm that dared to reforge itself: it was a blatant effort to move beyond in the aftermath.

-Two Weeks Later-

How long had it been since the war ended? The trials had been difficult and long, but the worst had passed. With her fraccion to worry about, Harribel had made no massive leaps forward and instead took great care with her fallen three. They had survived their brush with death at the hand of a somewhat merciful shinigami, with help from her fourth fraccion it had been managed at their survival. She had traded his life to his parents in order to allow her own continued existence. A necessary thing, even though it felt almost like a hollow move to make at the time. She knew the boy's parents had come to Hueco Mundo for him and tracked him down all the way to the shinigami battlefield, they had managed a way much all in the effort to find their child and she returned him to their side. It was easily a worthy trade, he was reunited with his family and she was once more with her original fraccion.

It was Apacci who first roused from her sleep, the induced healing that had been performed by her leader had helped her to recover from the significant damage to her body. Her vision was blurry at best and had not recovered completely from burning. She could make out shapes and that seemed to be about the gist of her visual ability that had returned.

"Harribel...sama?" the groggy throat of the deer arrancar sounded as if she'd had a frog in her throat.

It was so painful that she chose not to say anything when not hearing a response right away, it left her to think back to the last clear memories she'd had of the battle. Things had been going surprisingly well for them and she found that she couldn't point out when it turned against them. The tide had turned rather negative when _he_ emerged from the ranks, the Soutaichou himself had come to the front and defeated Ayon as if he were nothing. The elderly captain dispatched them with even greater ease and it hurt her pride rather severally knowing that she failed in her duties to Harribel-sama. It was not for about another few minutes of her coming to recognize her surroundings before she realized that they were down one member. Where had Kousou been in all of this? She couldn't believe that he wasn't amongst their surviving numbers and did her best to look around nearby. Aside from herself and the two familiar reishi signatures that she was tracing with her pesquisa, Kousou's reiatsu was no where near them at all. Feeling alarmed and a strong sense of dread in the pit of her stomach for reasons unknown to her, Apacci clenched her fists together weakly before laying herself back down.

Acting as if it were simply not the reality that was faced, she forced herself back to the even calm that came with the focus just before battle. While virtually helpless now, she knew that becoming frantic would not help the situation, but the realization of something that she had come to take for granted would be there was troubling. Even now with her holding it together, things were strange to believe when it fell to this realization. How the most prepared of their entourage was now no longer with them and the reasons that she couldn't accept. It was as if time was passing beyond comprehension and yet there would not be much of a moment to grasp any of it.

It was not for another 8 hours that would pass before things would finally become more clear, upon the return of Harribel with some supplies that she'd gathered other places of the virutally empty fortress. To the former Espada it was more a matter of finding out what state that her fraccion were in, though she could see they were sitting up, it meant they were awake but little else as for how they were. As she listened in on the conversation quietly, it became clear that the subject was one she'd have to explain carefully to the ladies.

"...I cannot simply believe that Kousou allowed himself to die, not after all we've been through together." Apacci's words were filled with their usual aggressive tone, even if she could not hide the rawness of her wish for that to be most true.

"He was against odds beyond his control, Apacci, I would not say it was not a possibility. If anything can be sure of the result of our survival...I am certain he played a key role in our still being alive." the normally perceptive serpentine princess added in her belief. She knew that Kou was not the type to leave his allies to perish, even if they were in truth his enemies.

"Damned kid...I warned him about his compassion, I told him to do what he had to out there...not to do something stupid! I guess...in the end of things it could've been that alone which was his undoing, but not yet right? He wouldn't allow himself to die so easily." Mila Rose was certain that he saved them from death, but at what cost to himself?

As the conversation carried on, the Shark Empress made her choice to tell them a large section of the truth; though it would be with a careful twist since her fraccion would do something foolish otherwise. She knew that the young shincy's parents would be extremely hesitant to allow their only son to consort with arrancar after what this war had done to him. The bonds forged were indeed, forced and unlike anything that Kousou knew before. Forced into his hands by women who had no conceptual understanding of what they'd done when violating the young man. She knew the consequences of touching innocence, she had taken a road and avoided the temptation. Repairing the damage was something that was her new task, if at all possible to fix, she could see that two were far gone over the youth more so than the third; this fact being a small comfort to her.

"Ladies, there is a lot I will be informing you about. You must be prepared because the news is hard to hear." Harribel decided not to lie to them, it would be as simple as explaining things clearly as she could to them without sugar coating a single word. She was unsure if he had survived, though the shark empress had a solid feeling that he was alive and well.

The explanation was very simple in its nature, she made sure that her fraccion understood Kousou's presence with them was something to be remembered and as a learning experience. How he went out of his way to save them and ensure their safety was his priority, it was to this point that his parents had come to gather him and take his unconscious body away. She ensured that her ladies knew just who his parents happened to be and what they'd done so far to get their son back to their side. The undertaking was something immense and it was obvious that his parents adored him more than a little if they proceeded the way that they had.

"You are to understand that we may never come into contact with him again, as I doubt that his father or mother would permit the contact." the last sentence was not a law that she laid flat, but more a strong word of caution that she was sure her ladies would follow. Urges ran deeply within two of her more rebellious natured fraccion, but it was of little consequence during such a weakened state for them.

There was a resounding silence that seemed to fall over the ladies, just as the Espada expected, her ladies soon gave a gentle nod. It was understood that despite what was a past with the young warrior shincy, there would be no more contact permitted and life would go on. Whatever had happened was now merely a thing of the past. There would be a lot to move on with, but never again would light or dark be quite the same even with the ending of the violent Winter War.


	16. Chapter: Shark Empress in Chains

A/N: Welcome to the next chapter in the Shincy series, though I had planned first to end it after the winter war, I have decided to go into the future, for now I am going to shift past the substitute shinigami arc and find a way point in between the shift into the Vandereich's invasion. What will happen and where will Kousou stand? We will see where it goes, the tale goes on. As the 17th month period passes for our well mixed blood hero, will his growth measure up to the passage? We shall see!

**'This text belongs to' Yami-Kou**

_'This text belongs to' Kazashiryuu_

'This text belongs to' Kousou

-(End A/N)-

Chapter XV: Shark Empress in Chains, Tres Bestia seeking

With the clear passage of 17 months, life for Yuushin Kousou had taken a turn for the serious, as he became a senior in high school; so to the point had his talents for combat grown exponentially. With a serious push from both his mother and father to become stronger, his mother released the truest form of her quincy strength in order to push her son's power into a new echelon of strength. It ws something that Kousou came to realize as a truth once Niyna had revealed why she sealed her strength, this as too a shock to her husband, revealed that she too could have likely been more destructive if not for the seal of mastery. Between this and Tou happily using the fullest extent of his shikai's power against his son's bankai and hollow mask, the harsh new regiment had produced some serious fruits of labor from their child. Kousou had been forced to mature quickly, given that both he and Kazashiryuu were two very different forces when active.

Despite her being the slower force, her power was well beyond anything that Kou was capable of and her ability to control the local weather made things helpful for him. But the power was something that he considered his trump card, more than obviously Kousou wished to avoid releasing it if ever. Taking everything that he'd learned from his time in Hueco Mundo, the shincy developed a variety of strategies with just his shikai alone. Kou made sure to wield his greatest talent of bringing out the fullest of even a weak ability by nature. It was nothing that he could not turn into a weapon. It was against his mother's initial wishes, but Kou had maintained a strong use of his hollow powers, taking point to develop several other skills that mimicked what he was exposed to while in service of Harribel; it was as her fraccion that he had learned many things to increase his arsenal of skills and these very things that he'd chosen to polish.

With the advancement of his shinigami and quincy training, Tou very sparingly chose to increase Kou's knowledge of the hollow skills, it was still done. The ex-captain would ensure that his only son dramatically increased the time limit of his mask's duration and the amount of damage that it could take during battle. It seemed that nothing was being shirked upon, while Kousou was receiving no quarter from his parents, he too was earning a strength greater than anything he'd thought possible for himself. Even now, Kou was only subject to the more brutal side of his father's shikai. It amazed the young shincy to no end as to just how much his father held back when they sparred as he grew up, as he knew the amount was great...but to think that this much measured too greatly.

"C'mon boy, is that all you got?" Tou's remark was cocky, and direct, aiming to push his son into attack. However, the words had quite the opposite effect on him.

Kou formed his spiritual bow, which had taken a soft blue metallic form, bearing quincy stars along their shape, the draw string too had appeared to be thin and crystalline; a dramatic difference from his earlier crystal-like bow. Responding in full; Kou fired a barrage of blue light arrows at his father, it almost seemed as if he were firing off a cannon of some sort, as the bolts of light were thicker than ever in previous times. It drew his Tou to spin his tiger fork and destroy the arrows aimed at his body. Before gathering some reishi upon the fork tip's and thrusting a wave of gravitons towards Kou's center. This attack prompted a swift use of shunpo that narrowly avoided the attack's range.

"Kido Arrow#32 Okasen!" the patented skill of composing his kido into a charged arrow and releasing the cracking yellow arrow aimed for his father once again, just as he made use of the quincy skill hirenkyaku in order to sneak up on his father a little quicker.

Something that his father counted on, the experienced vaizard let it show, as he expertly parted the kido arrow with an oval shaped kido barrier around the edge of his left hand while sweeping the length of his tiger fork horizontally to his right side and with his expert precision. Tou met with his son's shikai form, the green chokuto having become more decorative due to his achieving an elevated form of his bankai; normally which would have no effect on the appearance had done something with his bond to his partner. A necessary thing for those who wished to understand true union and harmony as it seemed. For an instant all was silent just moments before the trembling atmosphere shuddered as visible shockwaves struck the surrounding synthesized soul silver walls, ceiling, and floor. The violence lasted no more than three heartbeats before both combatants disappeared in a blur of speed.

It was clear upon a series of shunpo flashes where the direction of the fight was glowing, just like footsteps in the sand, the path headed straight to the ground level and ended within seconds of the last appearance, Kou was the one sent staggering backwards after his father batted him away with an upward sweep of the head of the tiger fork. While Kou had considered a strategy that he'd thought up, his was immediately interrupted by a series of rapid fire arrows aimed for his head, throat, and heart. It was this instantaneous succession that caught the shincy completely off guard, the bolts of light struck each of the critical points and dropped the youth to the floor.

"Rule of Yuushin combat#3, expect the unexpected. I'd thought we covered this last week, Kousou." the stern words coming from his mother, who was standing at the staircase's base. Still wearing her apron from cooking, she had decided to attack despite it not having been planned.

At first the teen didn't move, it wasn't until he shuddered and coughed before rolling over twice and rising to his knees. It was clearly to his fortune that Kousou had used a refined strategy that he learned during his time in Hueco mundo, a reiatsu wall knit tightly to his body, like body armor it prevented death blows with some focus and could even hold some wounds together. Something that with his training was a second nature thing to him the instant he awakening for the day ahead. A blessing that he was extremely grateful for practicing often enough.

"Urk...y-yes mother, I will not allow that to happen again." the degree of lessons that both of his parents had developed before his birth were harsh, cruel, and callous in nature. But they were extremely potent tools, these were things that both his mother and father kept as a code for battle; they had beaten all 10 into him for the past 6 months and still, while knowing them he had trouble applying some of them.

As Tou deactivated his shikai, he approached Kou and held out his hand, "C'mon son, good sparring today. You've improved again, marginally might I add."

As the shincy took his father's hand he had a weak smile on his face and seemed pleased, though he was a bit worn from the training today, he had come a long way. As the grueling 10 hours of practice came to an end. It was just enough to wear out the morning and afternoon, for a day off due to weather extremes had allowed some free time for thee extra practice today. This being something that he would not take for granted again, since the facts remained facts that all he'd done kept him alive through the winter war. He was wiser for every instant that he spent back in Karakura town and forever changed by the event. His father had been cleared of the charges and Kou was at the very least, allowed to assist the substitute shinigami with patrol. He was happy just not being charged with death for assisting Aizen's forces, fortunately for him it was the turn around that saved his life and allowed him to continue without Soul Society pursuing him.

As Kousou was brought upstairs for the afternoon meal, his mind could not help but drift to how things had really changed. Ichigo had sacrificed his shinigami powers in order to defeat Aizen and this was the fact of his future, splitting the hunting with Sado and Uryu had made the hollow count easy to keep in tow. Life had become a very turbulent thing and as far as he could tell, Kou could only get stronger than the previous day. Even though his growth was nothing like Ichigo's had been, his strength had grown tremendously due to the dramatic increase in difficult training and what lessons he had been taking. It was all for something that was coming soon, a great flurry of things that had been weighing in on him and to this effect it could not be identified readily. And it was this rage of thoughts that sent his mind into a wild haze, he had almost been unaware of the opening of a nearby Garaganta and the all too familiar blackness that fell before his vision; instinctively he leapt back and formed the navy blue bow with its golden lining and the quincy star present along its entire figure, was a definite mark of his growth as a holy archer.

From the dark shadows a single figure emerged, one that he had not seen in over a year, with a wary eye the look, he'd drawn the string back and revealed three charged arrows aimed at the target. He said nothing and instead waited to see just who it was.

"Now to find that-" the female arrancar's words were cut short as she set her eyes upon a quincy in front of her, glasses that she did not recognize and a bow that did not seem similar to one that she'd seen in the past, though it was not until she bore witness to the lush blue hair that a pang hit her heart upon her recognition of who it was.

"Kou! I came here to find you!" the voice of a familiarly excited deer arrancar upon realizing that this was the boy that she'd gotten close with only 16 months ago. She composed herself upon realizing that his bow was still aimed at her, following her every action.

There was only an instance of silence before she stepped towards him, ignoring the bow and using Sonido, nearly tackled him over and took him to the ground. Something inside of her had been welling up to this point, clearly a desire to reconnect with the shincy while she looked into his eyes and still spotted the wariness, held back the urge to snap at him.

"What is it, Kousou? why so quiet? You still appear not to trust me, what happened to you?"

"I awakened to the truth of what happened...while our feelings were not false, this doesn't change the fact that I was coerced into a life I did not want. I betrayed myself to survive..." his words almost hit below the belt.

Apache did not let it stop her reunion with the boy that made her heart beat and also ache in pain. She shut her eyes tightly and bit back the chance of tears, why did she want to shed anything? There was something surging within her and she hated the feel of it. While she adjusted herself in the position against the shincy.

"But what we had was the first way of something that I could have done anything...felt anything." she looked at him, angry but also hurt by the look in his eye. The conflict should never had been there, she merely preferred to have the connection that was present from the prior year.

For the next 10 minutes, there was nothing but a subtle chat between the two of them, a very troubled interaction finally broke when Apache leaned down and pressed her lips to Kou's gently. It was as if there was a type of elegance that flowered within her during the period of time that passed, she had learned to feel something about the young man. And only to this point following her mood while she kissed the boy she still felt for, her heart beat and the feelings within her seemed to bloom.

It was not until Kou gently drew back from her kiss with a look still of wariness, though to a lesser point by now, she was not undressing him or forcing him down as it had happened in the past. He felt that he could at least believe in her feelings and that she was not trying to trick him. This was not at all the Apache that he knew as far as her actions. There were no more words to pass between them as she got up and offered him a hand up, once it was offered Kou accepted her hand and rose to his feet with her aid.

"It is...rather nice to see you again, but why are you here? I would presume there was no reason to come back to Karakura Town, given that things aren't better for you here." Kou's question was very simple in its nature.

"A force moving through the deserts of Hueco Mundo, they are dressed in white and crushing all arrancar or hollows who live in the land. The situation is beyond critical, Harribel-sama has had us go deep into the desert to hide out, she herself is still at the palace, going to confront the enemy and crush them on her own. But, fact remains Kousou, we need help and I've come to ask you directly. You...are not a fraccion, but you were once...I can't force you due to the immense strength you've gained." she smiled at this fact, catching the notable increase within his pressure.

He considered things and had said nothing at this time, noting that the moment was still quite a bit of tribulation when considering things in the long run, though he had not thought much of what she said. People in white, what did that mean? He wasn't sure what she meant by that. White was the choice color of most quincy, his mother included, though her attire was a fine blend of her elegance, grace, and her choice of additional colors. Without another moment he huffed and shook off the extra thought.

"Are they...Quincy?" not that he thought such a thing could be possible, the quincy tribes had been greatly lessened, thinned out by the shinigami over 1000 years ago and the remains were far and few in between.

"They are the Quincy, their arrows of light bring quick death to the weakest of any hollow, even the stronger of the arrancar fall before their might. Like a plague they have overcome most of the endless deserts, destroying almost all hollows with the exception of a few traitors to our people. Those who are strong but submit, kneeling like coward before these...invasive scum." her words were lit with venom, though she had not included Kou amongst this batch of his people. She did not doubt her association with him had been worthy in many ways, it had helped her and her partners avoid surprise when facing the weaker of these soldiers.

Apache had wanted to share something more important with him than just what had happened with them, it was not to her liking that what they'd done was 'bad' in any way to her. She saw the connection as meaning and though Kou had been hurt by the way it had come to be, he still remembered some of it; much to her happiness in that regard. She was glad that he did not flinch under her touch. Though what she needed now was a steady ally and he had not given her an answer.

"I will...come to help you, even though the arrancar are my enemy, I do not forget that with your help, I did survive." it was a simple application of debt that he would repay back. He had truly hoped that things were not as grim as she spoke of...the arrancar were naturally much stronger than what he would perceive the average Quincy to be like, though he had no idea upon the enemy's degree of strength now.

While her face brightened, she would sooner hear words of finite decision.

"However, I will be informing my parents of where I am headed, I will not have them in fear for my life like before. We must all prepare to deal with this new threat, if they are spreading as you speak...then I know where they will strike next once Hueco Mundo is completely conquered. Something of this future speaks ill of all that lives." he had great fears for what it meant, should his meager mind's predictions prove true.

She nodded and tapping the very fabric of space with her reality, she opened a small rip in its open and let herself turn around to face Kou briefly, "I'll be waiting for you in Hueco Mundo, take the time you need but be swift." the words were in a very way hyper confusing, but got the point across simple enough as it were. She was leaving Kou to do whatever he had to do.

Things had been clear long ago for him since running into her: the past seemed to be uncanny link with the present and his past loyalties were calling to him and soon he would take action. It was obvious that he had not felt some demand to serve Harribel...but instead to help someone who kept him alive, it was a debt one way or the other.

-Back at Kousou's home-

The situation was met with an utmost refusal from his mother, who would not hear anything beyond his wanting to leave to help those who in her eyes, kidnapped her son and ruined his life. She could have cared less in the further focus of hearing that supposed Quincy Forces destroying the Hueco Mundo landscape. She, with the pride of a Quincy, could not believe this news from her son. Tou on the otherhand had bore witness to the shinigami-quincy war firsthand as a child, even losing his father and brothers to the war, bore a silent fear in earnest of those forces returning. Something in his son's words seemed to shine with him and the response from both parents differed, for one time in their entire marriage on the welfare of the world versus their son's welfare.

"Tou, you cannot honestly believe in what some random arrancar says, how do we know its not simply a trap to recapture Kousou?! I can't believe you're seriously willing to entertain anything involving our son leaving us again, even of his own free will!" Niyna was almost aghast at her husband's stance on it, even if he hadn't given a final verdict.

"Did I say anything like that, my love? You can't believe I'd willingly allow Kousou to endanger himself over some words from an enemy of ours. No...but I do know that if what was spoken is true, then lots of lives are in serious danger. All of our lives are and from this moment on, we may have to act to ensure that life is not threatened." the vaizard spoke without any hesitation in the tone.

Niyna quieted down as she caught notice of her husband's serious tone, though he was speaking with something of a relaxed tone, he had a plan and she knew that he'd be sharing with them both.

"Normally I would be against us splitting up...but things need to fall into gear here first, so I would like you to do us a favor Kou. You are to go to Hueco Mundo for a reconnaissance, keep your word but remember that your first duty is to return home with the information. I need you to gather some proof, your mother and I will get some things in motion here."

Turning to his wife he put a hand on her shoulder, "You shouldn't be worried...the past 16 months were a living hell for our boy, neither one of us held back. I've forced him to learn more about his own powers, you have taught him more about his Quincy nature, its his first line of defense and his most tactic. I am aware that you've shown him the use of a seirei glove?" something that was not lost upon him, their son wore a glove on occasion when he was training with his mother. But it was here that Niyna shook her head and simply smiled.

"No, he has his glove however, I've told him when he is to use it and not a moment sooner. I understand that you wish to trust him, Tou. So for you...I will allow this, just this once. Don't make me regret it, son. Succeed in your mission Kousou, we'll be waiting for you here, don't be late." the last words had not made sense, but she gave her permission as it were.

It had been a few minutes of his looking to his mother and then running to her side and hugging her tightly, a means of his recognizing her trust and just one more gesture from the shincy: his undying love for his mother and father.

"I'm coming home of my own accord this time, the skills you've taught me will be my guiding light."

Kou gave his father a brief hug before turning around and heading back outside, it was time for him to get the lead out and take the trip to Hueco Mundo. This technique something that he'd actually learned while using his skills as a hollow, was the ability to open the doorway into the dark portal with ease. A skill that he'd never considered he would be using so soon.

"Well, back to a place I never perceived that I would return to." the shincy tapped the center space before him with darkened pupils a first sign of his summoning his hollowfication in a small amount; enough to allow his energies to interact with the space before him.

With a bit more effort on his part, the Garaganta was open and staring into its familiar darkness for but a minute before heading into it. The long trip had begun towards the desert of a world where his hollow powers would feel at home and it would be a deciding factor in whether he was strong enough to face this mysterious force awaiting him in Hueco Mundo. His thoughts drifted carefully from what his thoughts were about the situation to what he'd be doing following the moment. It was to be a simple matter of application of how he would be reacting to those present in the desert, the response was simple...with his hollow powers. The perfect thing at which to blend him in with the arrancar of the area. He would keep his power almost miniscule in order to properly move around, as he could imagine there were few places to travel or hide out if at all. Just while he was thinking it

**'Did someone think my name?'**

'Well at least you catch on quicker than before.'

**'So you need to use my power, eh? Well what do you wanna do?'**

'I need to...try what we've been working on earlier...you know, where I use my Quincy power and let more of your power show through me.'

**'You want my powers amplified eh? That should be some fun, your father was worried when last we did that.'**

'That's fine, since neither of our parents are here, simply put...I need you to aid in the disguise.'

**'No sweat, kid. You give me such easy requests, I've been waiting for a time to cut loose.'**

During the trip through the Garaganta, Kousou's reishi had become more akin to that of an arrancar, the dual reiatsu tempering around him with flawless control, something that Kousou was consciously assisting in. The grafting onto the top of his head of a crow's beak helmet over the top of his head, two dark wings of well knitted reishi, while wrapped around his skin even tighter was a thickened layer of tatami-like flesh, having studied his opponents closely while in battle with them; the hierro was much easier to keep in place with the help of Yami-Kou. The layer was no where near as thick as true hierro, but the substitute was being knitted personally by a hollow, he knew there would be no better kind to have than one crafted by Yami-Kou himself.

Just as the Garaganta's path had come to an end, the hollow form now completely taken, Kou emerged from the portal and took flight, with black wings spread wide abroad in the eternal night sky. Where he was headed was simple, towards the reiatsu that he'd felt in the direction of Las Noches, where he would confirm just what exactly was going on here. Chances were that any kind of battle had long been over should these Quincy forces had been sufficiently strong enough. As he knew by example that most hollows did not stand a great chance against the light of the Quincy arrows. As he headed for the distance, flapping the newly crafted wings by instinct...flight without assistance was quite amazing, it almost took the focus out of his mind for a short time.

Once he'd focused a little bit, his flight pattern smoothed out and became slightly lower to the ground in order to avoid being spotted too easily. It was not until an array of Bala were launched in his direction, to which he hastily curled his wings in and avoided the blasts, heading to the ground and landing with a prompt thud as he evaded a second bala aimed for him. He could sense several weak hollow reiatsu within his area which meant he was being targeted by fools who probably thought they could take him down as a group.

"Finally, we found another...take him!" the bear-like hollow fired a large cero from its mouth while 7 other hollows emerged from the sands.

As he became clear to Kou that he was surrounded, their weak skills would make it easy to slay them, as he imagined they were probably feasting on each other in desperation to become strong enough to resist the Quincy present in Hueco Mundo. Instead of verbally addressing them Kou swatted the next of the cero away from him with the back of his hand, even compared to him this flock were little more than nuisances at best. He responded in kind by releasing a shower of Bala upon the first target, showering the bear-like hollow in the destructive bullet-like forms of his reiatsu, before turning back and grabbing the claw of a hollow aimed for his chest and kicking him back into the sand from whence he came. Using sonido to evade four more of the sudden emergence of hollows, he'd amped up his retaliation in kind and quickly gathered a charge for his own navy blue cero on the tip of his beak's tip, the raven's skull-helmet was great protection against surprise attacks; as one cat-hollow found out by attempting to bite through it and meeting no success.

Allowing himself to give into his own hollow-urges for a moment, Kou grabbed the man-sized feline by the tail and slammed him into the sand in front of him roughly, while the force had caused the body of the cat to bounce; Kou's body twisted halfway and his right foot punted the cat into three oncoming hollows. All of this happening within about the 5 seconds he took to gather a small charge had proved that his hand to hand had grown even better, as the shincy did not so much as blink or hesitate to respond right away. Suddenly a violent flash of the navy spiritual force whipped across the sand like a sweeping cloth did against a table, all but completely decimated the array of his enemies in front of him. Though the sand shot up around the surrounding space, it was something that Kou took into account and simply took flight again, keeping high enough from the sand that he could not be easily maneuvered into a bad position.

"Well...this could be troublesome." realizing that he was being followed by human reiatsu signatures, he realized that this was a confirmed fact by now, there were definitely Quincy present within the bounds of the hollow world, and as such were following him now.

Without giving them a chance to trail him, he increased his speed and unleashed an array of dark feather darts from his left and right wings out in a wide array, in order to kick up sand while he'd all but lowered his reiatsu to a non-existent degree of detection. He did his best to keep under the Radar while leaving these apparent scouts in the dust, the elevated bursts of sand proving an effective smoke screen; while using the cover he made use of sonido and shifted out of view. Continuing to the south at a high pace, despite keeping a low profile he was sure there would be news of disturbance in the southern dunes.

It was almost pure instinct guiding him through the nearly identical dunes and yet he felt as if something were wrong, though keeping a low profile that those reiatsu signatures kept on him, it felt as if he were being corralled...

"Damn, I was a little careless." Kou had realized just upon the moment that he was not having the kind of luck that he'd hoped, the Quincy were a lot smarter than his meager tactics. He was acting a little _too_ much like a hollow and this had led him to only just notice the kind of noose they were trying to grab him up with.

**'Well if they want to die, let's rip them to shreds then!'****  
**_'I don't think that this will service our getting free so easily, we should wound and maim, choose a direction and shatter this formation.'  
_

'I concur and as you've noticed I already left a few carefully laid gifts. Cero bulbs that will bloom the second anyone is dumb enough to step on them.'

It was just the kind of thing that he'd developed, using his reiatsu to stabilize the concentration of the destructive Cero into a condensed pressure pad of sorts. It wasn't long before the first of the blasts had sounded off, like music to the 1812 Overture, the blasts were sending echos throughout the desert while he turned and released an arcing array of bala into the right of his field, where he chose to break through. The potent cero he'd left under the sand had already started causing the sense of chaos that he'd hoped it would, using Sonido in order to break away from the major Quincy that were being destroyed by each blast; Kou did not think of them as lives but simply enemies. The hollow's method of thinking was exactly what he needed to apply to this.

It was not he'd felt himself suddenly grabbed from his mid-dash that he thought something might be wrong. As Kou aimed to resist his captor, it was just the kind of embrace that made him a little less tense. "Who..."

"Oi Kou, get it together, you're just lucky that myself and Sun-Sun found you before you got into serious trouble out there." the voice had been of a rather confident Mila-Rose, who embraced his hollow-clad form closely to her, with an embrace as strong as ever; he knew that she, like Apacci had grown much stronger in their time apart.

Sun-Sun having made use of her Muda ability in order to spy upon the situation at hand, upon sensing Kousou she instructed Mila-Rose to make sure and grab him if possible. With little more than a light smile on her face and a gesture towards the west, she began walking with the shed-skin field following her actions. There was so much that he'd wanted to ask and yet some things that he felt were best left silent. Mila on the other hand was unlike either of the two of them and spoke up quickly, once they began to move to the south covertly.

"You...have changed a lot Kousou, I can't tell the difference between you and one of us right now. Your skills with your hollow powers have increased and I for one am Impressed. The reason why your here is to help us, another thing I'm rather pleased to see, as...Harribel-sama has been captured by these Quincy bastards."

It was Mila-Rose who gently squeezed his chest and drew him back closer to her, it was so memorable for her...the muscles from his body pressed to hers, such things that she'd have to think of that later. This boy that she had not seen in over a year had immediately yearned for the taste of his flesh once again. To Find that Kou had become so much stronger, not just in his mature air about him left her in awe of the growth. Not that she'd verbalize her impression, he had come a ways and she respected the change.

There was a moment of quiet between the three as they all walked towards the small refuge that the three had been holed up in. It was a small cave opening that was hidden behind a natural layer of reiatsu-draining stone; it was nice as a cover even if it did weaken one naturally by being near it. Instead of questioning why they were hiding here, instead he followed Sun-Sun down towards the lower level, while Mila-Rose was seen drawing a heavy boulder into the entrance of the dwelling; it seemed to be for the sake of keeping them hidden. Safety was always something hard to find in Hueco Mundo, this was probably the only place they could manage out here on such short notice.

Finally Sun-Sun broke the silence to explain things to their guest.

"Well now that we have returned to our new 'home', its time you understand a few things, Kousou. For one as you so easily found, these Quincy that have invaded do control all major sections of the landscape, their forces are numerous and talented; despite being weak there are lots of numbers. They have elite trackers who can follow and chase down most hollows to slay them or capture the strong ones. There are only a few factions of us still resisting, and as you know from facts: Arrancar do not work well unless we are lead by a strong leader."

She fell quiet moments later and looked away since Harribel-sama had forced the three of them to leave her while she stayed to face their leader, it all ended badly for them and it left only a few ex-members of the remaining fraccion and Espada left. Shaking her head gently as she stepped towards the room to the right, she'd looked at him and said only a few words.

"You should rest..." were her last words before she disappeared into her room, not trusting herself around the company of the young man that had promptly come into their lives.

**(Mature Content lays ahead: you have been warned, skip to next set of Parenthesis to avoid)**

However, Mila-Rose was not so shy about how she felt and the instant that Sun-Sun disappeared, the nubile amazoness took the young man into her arms and looked at his face gently. Seeing the timidness that he'd had so readily before replaced by a meek, but determined look made her feel a new sensation. What was it about his beautiful face that was dressed with such emotion, though something stopped her from just starting on him right there.

"You know, that we should not be doing this anymore...things aren't the same, Mila."

"...And you realize that I didn't just do that because I wanted to hurt you...if I had desired to it would have been too easy."

As her arm curled into the bend of his back, she'd pressed her muscular frame against his lithely muscled body; ensuring that her breasts and body flattened out against him. If anything else Mila was planning to show Kousou that she'd more than cared about him, even if it was nothing that she was very familiar with. Her breathing growing somewhat huskier as she moved him towards her room, following her instincts and need that had suddenly been awakened by his lack of resistance. There was something inside of her that was awakened by his every action.

"Kou...I-I've missed you a lot, even if you can't really understand why. I don't pretend to know what I've done in the past, but...trust my feelings and trust me this night...that's what I am asking of you."

The words were mixed and mashed with her clashing emotions, she could sense that he was almost stoic or at the very least indifferent towards her and it bothered her. She rather enjoyed some reaction, his heart beating faster, the passionate touches he gave her before...she was close and yet this felt so cold to her. Though it was just as she was about to let him go that she felt a hand on her cheek, while she gazed into his eyes with a spark of hope.  
Just while she pressed into him and laid him down against her bed, she spotted the gaze in his eyes full of hesitancy and mixed emotion.

"I'd be lying if I said there were no feelings between us, but what it was still as it were; was wrong...and I am sure that you know that just as well as I do." he shook his head even after being laid down.

Though as he spoke his words she pressed her lips against his own and kissed him gently and laid herself against his body, unable to allow herself to stay apart from him. Even though the shincy was quick to keep her from undressing him, he was flushed bright red and starting to gaze back into her eyes with something of a familiar if not mixed set of feelings. "I...need t-to consider this...it is not as if I haven't felt for you, but you know this is more complex than that."

Hearing the tone of his voice, the unsureness had only seemed to encourage Mila's actions, as her hand rose and found his own. As her fingers entwined with his own, her belly pressed down against the firmly muscled abs of the shincy, while her hips ground into his softly. The Lioness arrancar was unable to resist this hollow-clad bird below her; she knew just who it was but the fact that he wore this mantle of darkness with no fear only thrilled her more. While she knew that he had not given her permission, she sat up and straddled his lap while letting her hands glide through his reishi feathers; they felt so real...she gripped them and let her fingers stroke through them gently.

"A-ah..." a light shiver ran through his body and had caught him by surprise, as earlier in battle he'd felt them block his attackers whenever they managed to shoot at him with arrows. The frequency of sensitivity is what troubled him most; he couldn't understand why.

**'Dumb kid, when I made this disguise, I made it real: threaded into your body, sure enough if they are destroyed it won't really matter, but it means they are 'your' limbs.'  
**'That would've been nice to know soon-ah..!'

His mental concentration was broken as he felt fingers digging into his sides, already wiggling his pants down while she kissed him feverishly. Her reiatsu suddenly filling the local zone between them and thrumming as her excitement grew. Her breathing becoming deep and harsh as she bit on his neck and placed both hands on his chest squeezing his muscular chest, the feathers upon his body drove her wild. She would find resistance as Kousou grabbed her hands and brought them to rest within his own.

"And this is where it must end, I cannot allow myself to become wrapped up in my own desires. The craving of the flesh no reason of any sort, it is meaningless without true feeling." Kou's tone was careful and monotone, he had prepared for such a day when this might become necessary.

Though as his words sunk into Mila, her face lit with both annoyance and amusement as she squeezed his fingers firmly before entwining them with her own. Her hips resumed their grinding; vigorous and powerfully but not without some ease or grace. She looked him deep in the eyes and stared at him hard, her face still lit with lust, but backed by something else.

"You're obviously a stupid ass, for once in your life Kousou. Did you think I _was_ just after this lush body of yours? Or hadn't you gathered that during my time with you; I might've learned to feel **something.**" the way she bitterly spoke the last word hit him on a level.

She did not stop to scold him and summarily kicked his pants down with her feet skillfully, releasing her hold on his hands if only to slip her panties to the side and to draw his semi-hard length straight into her wanton love tunnel, achingly slow for this one time. As she slid down on him, her gaze fell to his own as she allowed herself to moan ever so slightly.

"U-Uhh...if you hadn't noticed...I have fallen more than a little in love...with a hollow-human and completely shameless about it." her grin suited her nature, more bold and despite the redness of her cheeks, she seemed to be pleased with her statement.

Her hips descended slowly and drove him deeper into her lower lips, it was a childish glee that overtook her again. A sensation that ran through her heart and made it patter, flutter as if but a leaf in the breeze. Her empty void was finally filled after all of this time, the link was reforged and she felt completed by him. She gasped gently upon feeling Kou grab her hips and start to move her muscular backside around in his lap. Instead of saying a word, she shared a gasp with him and huffed gently before rising and planting herself down again in his lap. The passion that came to her was without any floodgates to hold it in.

What started out as slow and passionate became a buck-load of slamming thrusts and cascading flesh rippling around Kousou's member as she rocked and plowed him into her hot tunnel, even though this failed to show just how scorching she had been inside. The craving that she'd had for the young man had been exceedingly unbearable for her and now that she had what she desired, she was claiming all she could from him. It was against her will that the end came, as the lioness was in the middle of a deep grind just before planting herself at his base: which triggered the titanic explosion of her walls around his shaft. While Mila-Rose's body shuddered violently and sent tremors through her body, to her pride her gripping walls had coaxed the heavy flood of Kousou's essence deeply into her center. It was the finish that made her feel more at peace in that fact. "A-ahh!" her cry came without a surprise, as she was the only of the Tres Bestia who had affirmed her feelings in a single act.

**(End Mature Content)**

To the end of the act, Mila was just happy to have been in contact with her young lover, something infinitely pleasing to her given how her feelings were finally realized. He had not rejected her upon hearing that and while she did not hear him return the words to her, she was content enough with that alone. A part of her wanted to claim him for herself, to make him cry out her name and say that he loved her; but she knew that time had passed the moment she allowed her battle partners to lay their hands on him as well. It was not going to be as easy as it was in the past to share him, but she had every intention of allowing this to happen, for it was the only way that she could live with it.

Kou did realize what this meant for him, a choice to associate with those that he had stayed away from with purpose for the 16 month period; had it all been for naught? As Mila ran a hand through his hair and kissed the side of her lips, she hoped to bring some peace to his mind. The lioness reveled in every minute of connection with her lover and traced her fingers along his flesh while she peered at his chest. What was it about him? She almost wanted to wonder again.

"I know that you cannot stay with me long...but I did enjoy every minute of it and I want you to know I meant what I said. I love you, Kousou. Even if I don't fully comprehend it, I do know what exactly I am feeling. A vile thing that it is." she said that with a rich purring laugh that rumbled straight from her chest.

While the two did cuddle for some time, Kousou had left her room and crept into the main room to find Sun-Sun sitting at the makeshift rock table, overlooking some strange display of a kind. While it was nothing that Kou initially understood, the serpentine princess was fast to bring him up to speed.

"Now that you are here, I will share with you where what little intel comes in from. It is not much, since the Octava Espada's technology was mostly destroyed when Las Noches was shattered by battle; but we managed to gather this. A tabletop device that scans for reiatsu levels on many degrees while emitting a field to scan, it also cloaks an area pretty well. Hence why we are still hidden for the time being, I do not expect it to hold up forever. So you understand that we may need to move and in a hurry if to consider trying anything on the offense against the enemy."

She had paid him a single look, obviously realizing what had happened between he and Mila-Rose, she betrayed no feelings and remained professional. Despite there being _something_ hidden behind that poker face of hers, it was nothing that she allowed to betray her on any level. She had always been the coolest head of the three and nowhere near the bull headed behavior of either Apache or Mila-Rose. Though it seemed hardly to matter, for this moment was very serious in her concerns, as she refocused the map's zoning degree around the greatest energy that she could find on its surface.

"While I cannot scan this for long without chancing their picking this up, that large light you see in the center of the others...is the single man who is guiding this large force. While he has lesser lieutenants stationed around and we could pick them off, we are intending to head after this large source and destroy it."

"But isn't that a bit too forward? Surely we can just weaken the force through systematic-"

"For once...strategy is not with us, for time is not an ally that we have, Kousou. Every moment that we wait, there will soon be no haven for which we can remain in, soon we will be captured or death...even with you're strength added to our own, I don't know if it will be enough."

Kou went quiet for a minute, Sun-Sun was certainly the brightest amongst the three and while he wasn't sure of how far her strategy skills were, but she was keen in analysis. Time was against them and it meant that they'd have to make some serious tracks. Moving on the offense would be key, despite the fact that he would have to be considerate in his choices. Addressing this with his own input, he came forth with a small idea; even if it wasn't a whole lot to offer.

"...There is a good chance that we can do something, if I can get word to my mother about these Quincy, she may be able to provide me with some incite. This will take some effort from you ladies to help me get to a good zone. I can use Garaganta, but not from inside of here." he knew that the use of it from any old location would put him in a very different place.

He needed to get a message out and would focus on that fact, as despite being willing to throw his skill and strength into the very cause that the Tres Bestia were going forth with; but it would be a moot point if the issue was not addressed first. Sun-Sun reached a hand over to his shoulder, now at his side and upon her face a small look. While she said nothing, her eyes seemed to speak volumes of the things that she was feeling.

"Then we will get you out safely Kou, you were our partner before...you were fraccion alongside us. You kept Harribel-sama safe when we had failed in our duty, we trust that in you, the judgment of your sharp mind." the word of confidence was a large compliment that she'd just paid him.

This was nothing short of breathtaking for the shincy, but instead of being stunned for too long, he let his fingers rest upon her hand and gently squeezed it. Rising from his seat and giving Sun-Sun a soft look, before turning towards the room that he had been directed to; he was due to get some sleep before they moved out. Sun-Sun turned and headed back towards her room, sharing the sentiment of conserving some energy just before they'd make their move. Even though she was certain he'd be getting less rest than she thought, for if her instincts were not dull...then he had another visitor who missed him greatly.

~~~~~~~~-Inside Kou's room-~~~~~~~~~

Ever so reminiscent of his recent past, Kou looked upon the room and found a small crafted window in front of the cushion-like bed present. Something that had been saved clearly for him, as if someone were trying to remind him of a time that he'd spent. Wasting little time with his memories, Kousou removed his spiritual modified shinigami garb to the floor; it had been dramatically altered by Yami-Kou's use of his natural threading talents. Finding the breeze blowing in from the small window-formation sending in a soft breeze that brushed against his feathers, the top of his crow skull mask arcing the wind against him; he was so caught up in these new sensations that he did not notice the presence at his back.

It was not until a soft set of fur-covered arms wrapped around his waist and drew him back against a firm set of breasts and a tight body. The athletic build with great muscular strength revealed to him just who it was and he freely understood **who** it was, as he'd parted ways with two of the women already this day. The feeling of a horn rubbing against his shoulder and a soft breath against the back of his neck; as the slightly longer blue hair draped over his shoulders briefly as his surprise guest placed a gentle kiss against the back of his neck.

"..Kousou, about time you got in here." she squeezed him and drew him towards the bed, drawing him to the soft surface with her fur pressing into his smooth skin and feathers.

Rolling him over so he was on his back, she moved herself to lay upon him and just rested her form flatly against his own. While she could've easily gotten wrapped up in her passion, she was here for something more than just cheap thrills. This was a thing that she chose to embrace him and lay there, in her resurreccion pressed flatly to him; with no fear her eyes over where she sat. Kousou looked up at Apache with something mixed stirring behind his gaze, as if he wondered how still someone so fierce could also be so gentle and passionate when she wished. Something that still surprised him despite the time he'd gotten to know her.

"What brings you here, Apache?"

"Don't be stupid, you know I wanted to see you."

Her curt mannerisms made him grin, she was always sassy whenever the 'obvious' should have been clear. She kissed his nose and just rest against him, which he found to be a rare thing. Apache had almost always been about action, she wasn't one to like things going nowhere fast. Though her could see the look in her eyes gave hints as to something greater that had brought her here.

"Why are you here?"

"You know why I'm here, to sleep of course."

"No, I mean in Hueco Mundo...your world was safe and..."

"Not really safe, Apache-san. However, when I heard from you what had happened, there was no way I could idly let the conquest here succeed so easily. I don't know how much I can do...but I won't allow them to succeed."

She shook her head at that, always the heroic type wasn't he? Though things were not clear, she knew full well that he and Mila-Rose had been together, due to how he smelled. But there was something missing in it, Kousou's reactions lacked the depth that she was used to having. He was not as full of life as he had been the many times before the end of the war. The young man had matured greatly...but that wasn't it alone, this was some kind of strewn mask that was not truly his. He had allowed himself to be disguised and yet still this was not it either. The doe arrancar had questions for him, but didn't know how to approach it to get the _real_ truth out of him. She knew he was a master of verbal trickery: due to the half-truths and expert holding out on her in the past he'd done. The very thing that made her find out that she was drawn to his body and soul at first.

"So tell me Kousou, what happened with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play stupid with me Kou, you aren't who you were before the war. Did it really change you that much?"

"...I just realized that I lost something, it hasn't been regained yet."

"As I thought...you've been so lacking since I saw you."

"How do you mean? My demeanor has not changed."

"But you are lacking spirit to your voice, your actions; the thing that defined you before."

The words were short as she looked at his face, staring into his eyes just as she leaned into him, she ground her hips into his slowly, trying to spy the reaction from his face. He was so distant and yet she could feel him so close the heat from his body was calling to her and sent chills down her spine. She would not be as weak as Mila-Rose, she did miss him but she wanted him whole: all of his heart and soul to be present. Apache decided to spend the night with him, just to be near his form would be enough. Trying to get her mind off of the terrible days that would be ahead of them, for once she was allowing herself to feel something that she despised, vulnerability.  
With none of them able to realizing just what lay in store for them, to engage a force this immense, even with a united front would prove fruitless before greater numbers, employed strategy, and the advantage of a simple fact: the quincy could purge reishi bonds. Kousou would have to explain to them exactly what that meant, strategies would have to be devised if anything could truly account for such unruly strength. The day of the rescue of the Shark Empress had only just begun, with a combined front perhaps it just might be possible to strike against their impossible foe. As it was something that seemed to be a cold, hard truth to accept.

-With Niyna-

The astute Quincy bride had already been busy reaching into her sources, she had called her father and was checking around town trying to find anything that might have been very sudden, she'd been hoping to find some information that would give her some kind of a lead to start with. It was hard to believe that despite her father's activity as a Quincy, he had only heard of whispers and rumors of the Vandereich. As she pondered over her father's words and how he urged her immense caution, warning her that action against them would earn her a violent response. The word of a tale she knew like the light of dawn seemed to hold some truth: the reemergence of the slumbering Quincy King and word of his growing stronger off of the lights of the impure. There was nothing pure or steady for information that she could count on and she knew this.

"It looks like its time for some old fashioned detective work."

In a way this was something she thought she'd never do, knowing exactly where she stood on the matter was with her husband and child, she would assume the enemy knew that she had a child and a husband who was of the breed they despised. Conversion was something that she presumed would be what they tried: anything from a false deal to a reeducation through means of controlled psychological torment or reishi manipulation. It was going to be a hell on her once she got involved, but if it kept her child alive she would gladly place that on the line. She had faith in Tou, he was still brilliant as a mind in combat, frighteningly strong; he would be fine alone. She almost wanted to question had she slouched in her skills? Though it was something she shook off quickly due to the training she had been giving her son the past year: training harder than she ever had before with her husband's help as an opponent. She was in prime shape and she knew it, though this no longer seemed to matter as she was interrupted from her thoughts by a voice.

"Beg your Pardon, Lady Niyna, you have been summoned."

"Who are you?"

"It is of little concern, I am merely a messenger."

"Then pass this on, I am presently busy and have no time to respond to a summon of any kind."

"The lord was certain you'd say that, I've been sent to escort you, should you get sidetracked."

Niyna had already forged the heavy metallic great bow in hand, a size of which was manipulated by her emotion, the show of her determination and irritation both present in the frilled edges of her bow. With eyes glistening with a vigor, she watched as the strange man stood tall from his slouched position and watched him grow nearly a foot. Towering over Niyna's diminutive 5'6" height, the man of nearly 8 feet even stood over her, his masculine chin rising in a grin as he looked down at her. So this was one of the Quincy that were a part of this mysterious group? She would have to force the answer from his lips, if he spoke at all that being.

"Little Lady Niyna, I was hoping that you'd want to play, I've heard of your father's great prowess. Do you possess the skill of such a great man? A true Quincy that he was, will you be able to live up to his name?"

"I have advanced beyond my father's peak, a thing I will have to show you, in abundance."

As the final words passed between the two opponents, the massive man began his stride towards Niyna with no weapon drawn: completely intending to use his reach and size to the advantage of putting this fight to an end before it started. However, as his hand swept at her with a surprising speed, fingers pinched down and grabbed nothing. In less than a millisecond, Niyna's bow was slamming into the side of the taller man's skull as she flipped overhead and stood on a platform of blue light. With a resounding thud from the man's body, Niyna took a little pleasure in that fact that her actions had been so smooth. There was no fear now, just a battle ready maiden who would defeat her opponent no matter what his gift.

"Fiesty...as I hoped, for otherwise this would have been very boring."

(End Chapter)

Well I chose to end on a high note! Not really sure how this chapter feels, it does feel pretty good but easily it might have been stopped too abruptly. I know we didn't see hide nor hair of Harribel during this chapter but that's with good reason: how best to work out breaking into such a location or rescuing Harribel to begin with? These answers presently elude me, but fear not as I am in the process of thinking of a way! I love cliff hangers and that is the whole point here, finally Niyna's getting some battle time; I intend to show off both her and Tou's skills a little bit during these trials. So look forward to it, next chapter we'll pick this up! See you all soon ^^!

till then, adieu

-Quentix Starwing


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